Overview

• Texas lawmakers adjourned their first special session on Aug. 15 without enacting new congressional districts, and Gov. Greg Abbott pledged to call additional sessions after Democrats signaled they would return under specified conditions
• More than 50 Texas House Democrats fled the state in early August to deny a quorum and have agreed to resume legislative duties once California formally releases its remapping package and the session concludes
• On Aug. 14, Newsom unveiled a legislative package and scheduled a Nov. 4 referendum that would temporarily replace California’s independent Citizens Redistricting Commission with legislature-drawn maps aiming to net five Democratic seats through the 2030 elections if Republicans push through off-cycle remaps
• U.S. Border Patrol carried out visible patrols outside Newsom’s Los Angeles news conference, prompting criticism that the show of force served as a political signal amid the national redistricting standoff
• States including Florida, Missouri, Ohio, New York and Wisconsin are evaluating their own mid-decade redistricting measures and preparing Voting Rights Act and state-law challenges ahead of the 2026 midterms