California to hold November special election on mid-decade redistricting amid criticism of Trump’s GOP maps. Photos/X.
California Governor Gavin Newsom announced Thursday that the state will hold a special election on November 4 to seek voter approval for a mid-decade redistricting plan.
In his announcement, Newsom criticized President Donald Trump and Texas Republicans for plans to redraw that state’s congressional map ahead of the 2026 elections, aiming to create more Republican-leaning districts.
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Similar redistricting efforts are underway in Florida and Ohio, with Indiana and Missouri, both Republican-controlled, also discussing redistricting strategies.
“These efforts could yield Republicans nine or more additional seats, potentially bolstering their House majority of 219-212, even as Trump’s approval rating faces pressure in a cycle that may favor Democrats,” analysts noted.
California has currently an independent redistricting commission which is in place to reduce partisan influence in the drawing of congressional and state legislative maps.
Newsom’s proposal would allow voters to approve a measure creating a new mid-decade map-drawing process. This proposal would take effect for House elections in 2026, 2028, and 2030. The state would aterard return to the commission-led system in time for maps ahead of 2032 elections.
“We will affirm our commitment to the state independent redistricting after the 2030 census, but we’re asking the voters for their consensus to do mid-decade redistricting,” Newsom said. He did not specify how many districts he hopes to shift from Republican-leaning to Democratic-leaning.
Redistricting is the process of drawing the boundaries of electoral districts. This process is for both the Congress and state legislatures, within each state.
The US Census Bureau, after every ten years, reports the results of the Decennial Census of Population and Housing to Congress. Based on this, population-based reapportionment among states of the 435 seats in the House of Representatives is undertaken.
This ensures representation is aligned with current population distribution. States must then redraw district boundaries to maintain roughly equal constituent populations.
While the US Constitution specifies the process of reapportionment, it provides less detail on redistricting itself. Article 1, Section 4 states, “the Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators.”
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Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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