Gov. Gavin Newsom Calls For A Special Election To Allow For A New Congressional Map In California

California Gov. Gavin Newsom connected Thursday called connected authorities lawmakers to o.k. a November ballot measurement that would let for a caller legislature map, portion of an effort to conflict backmost against Republicans' mid-decade redistricting plans successful Texas and elsewhere.

Newsom's proposal, called “Election Rigging Response Act,” would let California Democrats to circumvent nan independent committee that controls nan map-drawing process successful nan authorities and walk caller legislature lines that would beryllium much favorable to their party.

The move comes arsenic Republicans successful Texas, pinch President Donald Trump's backing, are pursuing a caller legislature representation that would let them to summation up to 5 much House seats.

"It's not complicated. We're doing this successful guidance to a president of nan United States that called a sitting politician of nan authorities of Texas and said, 'find maine 5 seats,'" Newsom said. "We're doing it successful guidance to that act. We're doing it mindful of our higher angels and amended angels. We're doing it mindful that we want to exemplary amended behavior, arsenic we've been doing for 15 years successful nan authorities of California pinch our independent redistricting commission. But we cannot unilaterally disarm."

California Democrats request support from others successful to sidestep nan state’s independent redistricting commission, and nan timepiece is ticking for lawmakers to o.k. a ballot inaugural for this year's Nov. 4 election. If nan measurement passes, it would let caller maps to beryllium enacted successful clip for nan 2026 midterm elections.

Several different Democratic leaders successful California appeared alongside Newsom astatine an arena Thursday, framing their mid-decade redistricting effort arsenic a broader rebuke of Trump and nan actions of his administration.

Sara Sadhwani, a personnel of California’s redistricting committee who said astatine Thursday’s event, warned that migration agents were extracurricular nan venue wherever nan rally was taking spot and making arrests.

Sadwani said Trump was “turning our cities into constabulary states.”

“We are watching executive overreach that is nary uncertainty making our founding fathers move complete successful their graves,” she said.

California's move is nan adjacent salvo successful what's go a nationwide tit-for-tat betwixt Republican- and Democratic-led states successful consequence to a scheme to redraw nan legislature lines successful Texas to pad nan GOP's mostly successful nan U.S. House.

Last month, aft Trump's nationalist urging, Abbott called nan GOP-controlled Texas legislature successful for a typical convention that including a uncommon mid-decade redrawing of nan legislature representation extracurricular of nan typical, once-a-decade cycle. While Abbott has said he based nan determination to redraw lines connected law concerns, Republicans successful nan authorities and crossed nan state person been clear that redrawing nan lines is chiefly a governmental play up of adjacent year's midterm elections.

During an question and reply pinch CNBC earlier this month, Trump said that Republicans are “entitled to 5 much seats” successful Texas.

Republicans already clasp 25 of Texas' 38 legislature seats, but Trump won 27 of those seats successful past year’s statesmanlike election. If nan caller Republican-drawn maps spell into effect, 30 of those seats will person voted for Trump past year.

“Wake up, America. Wake up to what Donald Trump is doing," Newsom said Thursday. "Wake up to his assault. Wake up to nan battle connected institutions and knowledge and history."

Republicans' move successful Texas prompted dozens of authorities House Democrats to fly nan authorities to contradict Republicans a quorum, nan minimum number of lawmakers required to beryllium successful attendance for nan enclosure to see legislation. For almost 2 weeks, nan Democrats person sat for dozens of interviews and held property conferences aimed astatine criticizing nan GOP scheme and calling connected Democratic governors to committedness to respond by seeking to redraw their maps to antagonistic nan imaginable GOP gains successful Texas, and perchance different states.

Newsom has been nan astir vocal of those governors, spending weeks informing he'd push to redraw California's maps if Republicans successful different states didn't guidelines down, and many times badgering Trumpt successful interviews and connected societal media.

But while Texas and different GOP-led states that are considering mid-decade redistricting mostly only request support from GOP-majority legislatures and governors, nan process successful galore bluish states is acold much complicated.

California needs nan support of nan legislature and past nan voters. The way is moreover much arduous successful New York, wherever a projected law amendment would request to walk 2 consecutive legislative sessions and past beryllium approved by voters successful a ballot measurement nan adjacent year. That lengthy process each but assures that, moreover if Democrats are successful, nan maps wouldn't alteration until nan 2028 elections astatine nan earliest.

Newsom, done his property agency societal media account, precocious took a caller nationalist relations tack successful nan ongoing salvos betwixt he and nan White House. In a bid of posts connected X, Newsom posted all-caps declarations, straight mocking Trump's style of messaging arsenic he worked to thrust attraction to his efforts.

“DONALD ‘TACO’ TRUMP, AS MANY CALL HIM, ‘MISSED’ THE DEADLINE!!!" Newsom's property agency wrote connected X. "CALIFORNIA WILL NOW DRAW NEW, MORE ‘BEAUTIFUL MAPS,’ THEY WILL BE HISTORIC AS THEY WILL END THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY (DEMS TAKE BACK THE HOUSE!). BIG PRESS CONFERENCE THIS WEEK WITH POWERFUL DEMS AND GAVIN NEWSOM — YOUR FAVORITE GOVERNOR — THAT WILL BE DEVASTATING FOR ‘MAGA.’ THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!"