California lawmakers have approved a set of redistricting bills that could change the state’s congressional maps, a move that comes one day after Republicans in Texas passed their own new district maps.
The three-bill package, supported by Governor Gavin Newsom, will go before voters. If approved, it would replace California’s current maps with new ones designed to give Democrats five additional U.S. House seats.
In California, however, the new maps will not take effect unless approved by voters. A special election is scheduled for November 4, when Californians will decide whether to adopt the proposed maps.
The ballot measure would also include a constitutional amendment allowing lawmakers to override the maps drawn by California’s independent redistricting commission.
At a press conference promoting the ballot measure, Governor Gavin Newsom said Democrats need to take a tougher approach in response to the Trump administration’s push for greater influence.
“We tried to hold hands and talk about the way the world should be,” Newsom said. “We can’t just think differently, we have to act differently.”
The Assembly approved Assembly Constitutional Amendment 8 in a 57-20 vote. Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains of Bakersfield was the only Democrat to vote against it. She is running for Congress in the Central Valley district.
Bains explained to her opposition by criticizing both parties for using redistricting to gain power.
“The Texas redistricting scheme is an affront to democracy. Their gerrymandered maps are an electoral fraud. I will not sit by and watch two political parties destroy the concept of fair elections. This has become a race to the bottom where an eye for an eye will make the whole world blind. We don’t need more ways for politicians to rig the system. I oppose any effort to circumvent independent redistricting, and the courts should act to stop these political games,” Bains told The Sun.
Her Democratic primary opponent in California’s 22nd Congressional District, Randy Villegas, supports the plan. He has the backing of Kings County Democratic Central Committee Chair Cathy Jorgenson and Tulare County Democratic Central Committee Chair Joshua Evans.
Villegas said: “Here in the Central Valley, we are sick and tired of extreme Republicans tearing families apart, destroying Medicaid and giving tax breaks to billionaires while hard-working Americans struggle to survive. To top it off, they’re now trying to steal the next election before it even happens. I’m proud to stand with Democratic leaders across the Central Valley and California as we refuse to be cheated out of fair representation, and do everything in our power to put working families first.”
Jorgenson said: “Democrats need to be doing everything they can to fight back against Donald Trump and his authoritarian takeover of our government. This is not about policy disagreements, this is about the future of our democracy.”
Evans said: “This is a moment for California Democrats to show that we will not accept the rigging of our democratic process. We must fight fire with fire, and the people of the Central Valley deserve representatives who will fight for them day in, day out.”
