Overview
- California voters approved Proposition 50 by roughly 64%–36%, temporarily shifting congressional mapmaking to a legislature-drawn plan under AB 604 for the 2026, 2028, and 2030 elections in a bid expected to net Democrats about five seats.
- State Republicans filed a federal complaint in the Central District of California alleging unconstitutional racial gerrymandering to favor Latino voters, citing lawmakers’ and a consultant’s statements, and asking a three-judge panel to halt the map.
- Legal experts note the case will turn on whether race or partisanship predominated in line-drawing, and they caution that court intervention before California’s June 2026 primary is unlikely even as a Supreme Court racial-gerrymandering case looms.
- A separate effort was submitted to the state attorney general to put an initiative on the 2026 ballot that would limit the new maps to the 2026 cycle and restore the commission’s lines for 2028 and 2030, requiring more than 800,000 signatures to qualify.
- Political fallout has intensified as Republicans trade blame over a lopsided defeat and fundraising shortfalls, while Gov. Gavin Newsom plans a Texas rally to press Democrats elsewhere to counter Trump-backed mid-decade GOP remaps.