Just a few weeks ago, they were champions of reform, praising California’s model of taking map-drawing “out of the hands of an elected body.” Today, those same lawmakers are supporting a plan to do the exact opposite.
A political firestorm has erupted in California as Democrats, in a retaliatory strike against Texas Republicans, are moving to override the state’s own voter-approved independent redistricting commission.
The move, which aims to create up to five new safe Democratic seats in the U.S. House, has led Republicans to cry foul over what they call a “mysterious case of collective (and selective) amnesia.”
The California Redistricting Battle
- What’s Happening: California Democrats, led by Gov. Gavin Newsom, are pushing a plan to redraw the state’s congressional maps to gain up to five Democratic seats.
- The Controversy: This move would override the state’s independent, voter-approved Citizens’ Redistricting Commission, a body California has long championed as a national model for good government.
- The ‘Hypocrisy’ Charge: Republicans have unearthed recent statements from several key Democratic lawmakers who, just weeks ago, were praising the virtues of independent, non-partisan redistricting.
- The Constitutional Issue: A battle over the principles of direct democracy and fair representation, and a major escalation in the federalist “arms race” over control of the U.S. House.
A Plan to Fight Fire with Fire
The plan advanced by California Democrats is a direct and unapologetic response to the ongoing effort by Texas Republicans to gerrymander their own state to gain five new GOP seats.
Fearing a loss of their thin U.S. House majority in the 2026 midterms, California Democrats are now proposing a special referendum for this November. This ballot measure would ask voters to approve a new, legislatively-drawn map, effectively sidelining the independent commission for the remainder of the decade.
“We don’t want this fight,” said Democratic Assembly member Marc Berman, “but with our democracy on the line, we cannot run away from this fight.”
‘Let’s Rewind the Tape’
The move has been blasted by California Republicans as a “sinister redistricting scheme.” Their most potent weapon in this fight has been the Democrats’ own words.
In a statement, the Senate GOP compiled a list of recent quotes from prominent Democrats who, just last month, were championing the very system they now seek to override.
“Politicians shouldn’t be drawing their own lines.” – California State Sen. Benjamin Allen, July 2025.
Other Democrats on the list, like State Senator Scott Wiener, had said “everyone should have to have an independent redistricting commission,” while Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria called the state’s commission a “good model” for a “transparent process.”
The stark contrast between these statements and the current political maneuver has opened the Democratic majority to powerful charges of hypocrisy.
The People’s Commission vs. The People’s Vote
This conflict creates a fascinating and complex constitutional battle at the state level.
California’s Citizens’ Redistricting Commission was not created by the legislature. It was created directly by the voters of California in 2008 when they passed Proposition 11. The goal was explicitly to end the practice of partisan gerrymandering by taking the power of drawing maps away from self-interested politicians.
The new plan proposed by Governor Newsom and legislative leaders also uses the tool of direct democracy – a special statewide referendum.
“This is a rare and complex battle of direct democracy versus direct democracy – pitting the voters’ 2008 decision to create an independent commission against a potential 2025 decision to override it for short-term political gain.”
The Price of Power
The move by California Democrats, while politically understandable as a brutal response to the Texas GOP’s power play, comes at a high price.
For over a decade, California has been held up as a national model for redistricting reform – a state that took the power to draw lines away from politicians and gave it to the people.
By moving to abandon that principle, even temporarily, for partisan advantage, they risk fueling a national “race to the bottom” on gerrymandering.
This escalating conflict is a stark reminder that in a bare-knuckle fight for control of Congress, even the most deeply held principles of “good government” can become expendable.