The battle over elections and redistricting is intensifying in Texas and across the U.S. after Democrats fled to other states to block Republicans’ attempt to gain more congressional seats in the U.S. House. Now, blue states like California are confirming their plans to fight back by doing exactly the same thing.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is moving forward with a redistricting effort to add five Democratic seats to the U.S. House of Representatives. He announced a special election in November to introduce new House maps.
But Newsom faces one hurdle that lawmakers in Texas don’t face. California’s election map must be approved by his state’s independent redistricting commission.
So he’s aiming to bypass that independent commission, known as the California Citizens Redistricting Commission (CRC), putting forward a ballot measure that would circumvent the CRC for the next three mid-term election cycles, including 2026.
The CRC website explains, “In November 2008, California voters passed the Voters FIRST Act, authorizing the creation of the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission to draw new district lines, taking the job out of the hands of the California Legislature and transferring it to the citizens.”
Now, Newsom wants to remove that power from the citizens and give it back to the Democrat-controlled state legislature. He says he’ll then consider allowing his state’s citizens to determine their district lines once again after 2030.
While announcing his plans to bypass the independent commission, he’s accusing Republicans of “election rigging.”
“Trump’s election rigging comes to an end now. California won’t stand by and watch Trump burn it all down — we are calling a special election to redraw our Congressional maps and defend fair representation,” Newsom posted on X.
He says his goal is to “end the Trump presidency.”
Newsom wrote Tuesday night on X, “DONALD ‘TACO’ TRUMP, AS MANY CALL HIM, ‘MISSED’ THE DEADLINE!!! CALIFORNIA WILL NOW DRAW NEW, MORE ‘BEAUTIFUL MAPS,’ THEY WILL BE HISTORIC AS THEY WILL END THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY (DEMS TAKE BACK THE HOUSE!).”
Democrats overwhelmingly control the California Senate and Assembly, so Newsom’s allies hold supermajorities. Still, new polling reveals the majority of Californians, 64 percent, prefer redistricting handled by the independent commission. Only 36 percent of California voters support returning congressional redistricting authority to the state legislature.
The redistricting battle is also making waves in New York. CBN News recently spoke with New York Democratic Congressman Ritchie Torres on the effects this could have in his state and beyond. He believes the current battle happening in Texas will set off a national redistricting arms race.
“I wish every state would honor the tradition of redistricting every 10 years after the census. But if Texas is going to redistrict mid-decade, then states like New York have no choice. I mean to do nothing would constitute unilateral disarmament. So, you know, I see it as a tragic necessity,” Rep. Torres said.
Many Democrats have echoed Torres’ message on keeping that tradition of redistricting every 10 years.
Meanwhile, Texas Republicans are still unable to approve new congressional districts. But GOP leaders say they are prepared to end their now stalemated special session, which includes the proposed new maps.
The search continues for the dozens of missing Texas Democrats who fled the state. And Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows says officers are set up outside the homes of these absent members. He said, “You can go to another city, but you cannot escape your responsibility to the people of Texas.”
