By Ryan Machuca, September 9, 2025
Blindly standing by to massive power grabs cannot be allowed, and that’s exactly what California voters will stand up to this November via way of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s redistricting effort known as Proposition 50.
The effort to create a redistricted California comes after years of political effort to stop partisan districting in the first place. But the independent California Citizens Redistricting Commission, the pride of California’s efforts to maintain fair congressional districting, may become a temporary casualty of a larger war over electoral integrity and democratic representation.
Larger issues of fair districting practices need to take a back seat in the struggle for the preservation of fair elections.
With Congress itself on the line in 2026, voters should understand the redistricting effort in the state is one of importance, necessity and integrity. It is well within Californians’ duty to stand up to aggressive disenfranchisement efforts, whether that be in-state or out of state. Electoral rigging via unfair or partisan redistricting efforts cannot be allowed to become the political law of the land, but it cannot also be perpetrated without consequences by bad actors.
Last month Texas fired the first shot in a congressional arms race toward gathering as many House seats as possible by partisan legislatures. As is often the case in our polarized political climate, it was initiated by the man at the center of American political attention, President of the United States, Donald Trump.
Trump called on Texas to redraw its Congressional maps in mid-July to obtain give more Republican seats in the House of Representatives in the 2026 midterm elections. This was motivated by nothing more than fears of the Republicans losing their thin majority in Congress, thus enabling Democrats to halt some of the president’s plans for national policy.
“It seems as though (Republicans) may lose in the midterm election,” Jared Cuellar said, assistant professor of political science. “They may lose the House. This is the first time a president has used his power to request gerrymandering.”
According to the Legal Information Institute of Cornell Law, gerrymandering refers to the practice of drawing congressional or state legislative maps in ways to benefit incumbent political parties. A congressional map divides a state into districts, each of which corresponds to a seat in Congress.
Imagine a state that has a split of 60% Republicans and 40% Democrats, with 10 available seats. That breakdown roughly comes out to six Republicans and four Democrats in office. However, a gerrymandered state may have maps drawn with Democrats clustered into a couple of districts or spread thin across several Republican dominated ones; thus, seeing a breakdown closer to eight Republicans and two Democrats.
Some states, such as California, have created independent congressional districting commissions, which remove the map- drawing process from the legislature and instead place it in the hands of independent non-partisan individuals to draw maps that are more representative of the political persuasions of California. The California Citizens Redistricting Commission, the organization responsible for drawing these maps, has been in place since 2008 after California voters passed it with Prop 11.
“Citizens, non-elected officials, get together and draw these maps,” Cuellar said. “California prides itself on that.”
Fundamentally, Prop 50 is asking Californians whether they should allow a power grab or attempt to fight it.
“In the law, when it established the Citizens Redistricting Committee, there was a failsafe that allowed the governor to call a special election if needed to draw new maps,” Cuellar said. “The new maps would have to be voted on and approved by the voters.”
While the ideal of an independent commission for redistricting is a fair principle to hold, principles alone cannot fight for themselves. Unfair behavior should not be rewarded, and it is clear the president and his Republican allies are playing dirty.
Truly, the decision will come down to the voters of the state. While recent moves have been spearheaded by Newsom and other state lawmakers, the final decision will come down to the local level in November.
California is not the only state with the power to counterattack, but it is the most powerfully primed state in a position to fight. With the largest population of the 50 states by over nine million, as well as a sizable Democratic supermajority in the legislature, California is offering the chance to halt undemocratic efforts to undermine elections in the future.
The new redistricting plan does have a way out for opponents who don’t wish to see gerrymandering emerge in California. What must happen to retain independent redistricting is for Texas, and other states that have threatened to redraw their maps, to lay down their arms and refrain from engaging in hyper-gerrymandering practices. If this happens, California will refrain from redrawing its maps to nullify Republican gains.
It takes two to tango. It should not be expected that one side of the political spectrum acts responsibly, while the other acts only in its own self-interest.
As Newsom said at a press conference in August, “We cannot unilaterally disarm.”
Only universal disarmament can be a reasonable compromise to this new redistricting effort by California. Otherwise, it can only be described as one thing: an unconditional surrender.
Feature graphic courtesy of Connor Lālea Hampton
