Atty, California. Gen. Rob Bonta said Tuesday that Democrats believe there is a “legal route” to present new congressional district maps directly to voters in statewide voters without any opinions from the state’s independent congressional commission.
Such a move, he suggested, could counter the efforts of Republicans to lean next year’s midterm elections by pushing measures in favor of GOPs in conservative states such as Texas. If successful, Republicans will likely be more likely to maintain a slim majority in the U.S. House of Representatives and protect President Trump’s ability to enact his agenda.
“I think the governor can call for special elections with California voters in attendance and move them on a different path than an independent district committee. [and] It’s specific and specific, then people vote,” Bonta said, adding that his staff had been discussing the issue with the team at Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Republicans who would likely lose their seats if such a voting law was approved were suspicious of Bonta’s claims, claiming it was harmful to democracy. James Gallagher, leader of the GOP assembly, criticized Bonta’s proposal as “a strange legal theory that undermines CA voters.”
“It’s undemocratic, it’s wrong and it needs to be stopped,” Gallagher said in a social media post Tuesday evening. “If they move forward like this, they will tear the nation apart from this.”
Bonta provided little detail on potential voting measures other than saying that the state legislature could draw new district boundaries and be presented to voters in special elections. The measure would ask voters to withdraw power they granted to the independent district commission, at least temporarily.
Experts say presenting the map directly to voters is seen as an effort to shake up Californians who could become creepy about having Californians redrawing their districts after the vote.
The governor’s office refused to say whether Newsom intends to ask Congress to post a map of the proposed district on the poll. His team said he continues to explore two pathways he outlined previously — either redrawing a map where state lawmakers are likely facing legal challenges, or putting the issue in a statewide vote for California voters to decide.
Rezoning – An esoteric process of redrawing political boundaries – usually occurs once every ten years after the US census changes its population nationwide. But that’s in the news. This is because Trump could face the loss of a slim GOP majority in the House, allowing Texas to redraw the Congressional Central District, urging more Republicans to be elected in the 2026 midterm elections, and pushing the agenda in the final two years.
California lawmakers, like most state lawmakers, supported political parties and gerrymanded political boundaries to protect their incumbents. However, in 2010, voters overwhelmingly passed voting measures, creating an independent rezoning committee focused on integrating communities of interest, respecting minority voting rights, and portraying a geographically sensible council district.
State Republicans and Democrats opposed the efforts as they eroded their strength. Now, Democrats are fighting back after the Trump administration urged GOP states to redraw their district lines in ways that would strengthen their party control. In California, partisan redrawings of the district allowed half a dozen seats in the party of the state’s 52-person delegation, which currently has nine Republicans.
Before such potential changes are presented to voters, it must occur, particularly before Congress has to approve the issue’s placement in special elections before voters and draw a new map on a compressed schedule. There seems to be a legal challenge.
“In general, when people vote for something, it changes in a critical way and if Congress doesn’t take any additional steps to promote what people voted for, people need to vote for that change,” Bonta said after being asked about the issue at a press conference. His office said: “I worked to have the confidence and assurance that there was a legal pathway for California to respond to and take action in every action Texas takes.
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