The redrawn maps would remain in place through the 2026, 2028, and 2030 elections.
California lawmakers are returning to Sacramento to vote on a series of measures to expand Democratic control of the state’s U.S. House of Representatives delegation, facing a tight deadline.
Specifically, the series of bills under consideration—dubbed the Election Rigging Response Act—would establish new maps for congressional districts, give authorization for the redrawn map to replace the current one, and declare a Nov. 4 special election to seek Californians’ approval of the change.
The redrawn maps would remain in place through the 2026, 2028, and 2030 elections. Afterward, control of redistricting would be returned to the independent commission that currently handles districting in the Democratic stronghold.
Congressional maps are usually drawn once a decade following the decennial census, with mid-decade redistricting being a relatively rare phenomenon.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, the leading advocate for redrawing the maps, has described the bid as “fight[ing] fire with fire,” responding to Texas’s efforts to expand GOP control of their U.S. House delegation by five seats.
The California legislation has the backing of leaders in both chambers of the state Legislature, and is likely to pass with the assent of the Legislature’s Democratic supermajority.
“We are prepared and we will fight fire with fire,“ California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas said.
“We will do whatever it takes to defend our democracy. We will do whatever it takes to protect the voices, the votes, and the rights of every American.”
On Aug. 20, the Texas House passed a new congressional map after Democrats who fled the state returned after assurance of California’s efforts to counter Texas’s move.
The California legislative package would redraw the boundaries for five currently GOP-held districts to increase their share of Democratic voters.
Three California Republicans—Reps. Kevin Kiley, Doug LaMalfa, and Ken Calvert—are particularly endangered by the change, with their districts on track to be inundated by voters who backed Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024.
Two other Republican seats at risk—currently held by Reps. Darrell Issa and David Valadao—could still stay under GOP control, according to The Cook Political Report, though retaining these districts will become substantially more difficult under the redrawn maps.
California, the most populous state in the union, currently holds 52 seats in the U.S. House, with 43 held by a Democratic supermajority.
By Joseph Lord
