Overview

• California’s legislature approved and Governor Gavin Newsom signed measures to place a Democratic-drawn congressional map before voters in a Nov. 4 special election that would temporarily bypass the state’s independent commission.
• The Republican-controlled Texas House passed a map on an 88–52 party-line vote that targets up to five additional GOP-leaning seats, with final Senate action and Governor Greg Abbott’s signature still pending.
• Democrats and civil-rights groups plan Voting Rights Act challenges to the Texas plan for allegedly diluting Hispanic and Black voting power, while California Republicans sued to slow the ballot push before the state’s high court rejected an initial bid.
• National figures have joined the fight, with President Donald Trump urging Texas Republicans to remake the map and Barack Obama endorsing Newsom’s counter, as the GOP’s House edge stands at just three seats heading into 2026.
• Officials in other states, including Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, Florida, Illinois, New York and Maryland, are weighing mid‑decade redraws that could widen the nationwide battle over congressional lines.