After weeks of bluster from dueling governors and state lawmakers, California and Texas raced forward with parallel action this week to draw new congressional maps, setting into motion a national redistricting fight that could upend the midterms and determine control of the House.
Fulton County BOC Members who refuse, under Court order, to appoint the GOP Nominees. From Left to Right: Commissioners Marvin Arrington Jr, Mo Ivory, Dana Barrett
Last week, a judge ordered the Fulton County Board of Commissioners to seat two Republican Party nominees: Jason Frazier and Julie Adams. The two were nominated in May but have yet to be seated.
Two of the Democrat members, Dana Barrett and Mo Ivory, were able to thwart Commissioner Bridget Thorne’s motion to confirm the two Republican appointees. Because of the absence of three other members on the seven-member board, the motion was blocked in a 2-2 vote.
The California Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a petition filed by state Republican legislators seeking to halt Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) plan to redistrict California’s congressional map.
“Petitioners have failed to meet their burden of establishing a basis for relief at this time under California Constitution article IV, section 8,” reads a brief order posted to the docket.
Newsom has hit back at Republican redistricting efforts in Texas by pushing for a special election this November to get voters’ approval on a more favorable House map for Democrats in California in time for the 2026 midterms.
The ruling paves the way for the California legislature to proceed with voting as soon as Thursday on a package that would set up the special election.
As if Republicans didn’t have enough problems trying to hold on to the House majority, along comes Utah to give them a whole new problem.
Republicans once again tried to ignore the will of the people and the state’s constitution, and the matter went to court.
The Campaign Legal Center explained what happened:
The court determined that the Utah state legislature violated the people’s right to alter or reform their government when they repealed Proposition 4, or Prop 4 – a ballot initiative that aimed to prohibit partisan gerrymandering by establishing the Utah Independent Redistricting Commission and creating fair, neutral criteria and procedures for adopting district maps.
Prop 4, which was passed by Utah voters and unconstitutionally repealed by the legislature, is now the law again. The current gerrymandered congressional map passed by the legislature may not be used in future elections. The Utah state legislature now has a chance to pass a new, fair map that complies with Prop 4, and if it does not, the court will order a new map, which will be used for the 2026 election.
Former President Barack Obama is supporting California’s mid-cycle redistricting effort as a “responsible approach” to Republicans drawing new maps in Texas.
Obama praised California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s ballot measure proposal to redraw congressional districts and tilt at least five congressional districts in the state towards Democrats at a fundraiser on Tuesday for the National Democratic Redistricting Committee.
“I believe that Governor Newsom’s approach is a responsible approach,” he said, according to excerpts obtained by POLITICO. “I think that approach is a smart, measured approach, designed to address a very particular problem in a very particular moment in time.”
