Overview
- A three-judge panel denied preliminary injunctions sought by the California Republican Party and the U.S. Department of Justice, allowing the voter-approved map to take effect.
- Judges Josephine Staton and Wesley Hsu wrote that Proposition 50 was a political gerrymander intended to flip five Republican-held seats, not an illegal racial gerrymander.
- Judge Kenneth K. Lee dissented, pointing to mapmaker Paul Mitchell’s public statements as evidence that race likely predominated in at least one district.
- The majority referenced the Supreme Court’s recent Texas decision and Justice Samuel Alito’s concurrence characterizing both states’ maps as driven by partisan advantage.
- Approved by about 64% of voters in November, the Prop 50 lines will govern the 2026, 2028 and 2030 elections, and Republicans and the DOJ are expected to appeal to the Supreme Court.