California Considers Partisan Redistricting Amidst Texas’s Move

California Democrats are weighing a return to partisan redistricting in response to Texas’s mid-decade map-drawing efforts, a move that​ could ignite a national “gerrymandering arms⁢ race”⁣ and undermine voter-approved reforms.

Texas governor Greg Abbott has ⁢called a special session of the state Legislature, beginning Monday, to redraw⁣ congressional districts.Abbott stated the decision was prompted by a⁤ court ruling last year that⁢ removed the requirement for “coalition districts,” which previously combined multiple minority⁣ communities. “New maps will work toward insuring ⁢that we‌ will maximize the ability of Texas to be ⁣able to vote for the⁤ candidate of their choice,” Abbott ​said in an interview.

The move in ​Texas is ⁤seen​ by‌ many as an attempt ‌to​ solidify Republican control of Congress in next year’s midterm elections. Wiht the House narrowly divided, and the party holding the White House often losing seats‌ two years later, even a small shift in Texas could‌ considerably impact ⁤the balance of power and potentially render President Trump a “lame duck” ⁢for two years.

house Speaker Nancy Pelosi condemned Texas’s actions,calling it “shameless,shameless,the mid-decade redistricting that they’re doing​ at the orders of Donald Trump.” Speaking at‍ a “Stop the Texas Takeover” event,Pelosi declared,”This is what we’re doing​ in California.We’re saying to the Texans, ‘You shouldn’t be going⁤ down this path. We go down this path, we’ll go down together.'”

If California ‍Democrats pursue partisan redistricting in time for the midterms, the‍ state ⁤Legislature, where Democrats hold a supermajority, could place‌ the issue‍ on the ballot for a special election, likely in November. Alternatively, lawmakers‌ could enact‍ the change through legislation, though such⁤ a move would likely face legal challenges.

This potential shift comes as a stark contrast ⁤to California’s 2010 voter-approved​ reform establishing a nonpartisan congressional ​redistricting ⁤commission, a priority‌ of⁢ then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. While Schwarzenegger has not publicly⁣ commented ⁤on the potential ‍rollback, the ⁢director of the USC ⁢Schwarzenegger Institute, ‍which⁢ champions ⁤political reforms, warned against weakening the state’s system.

“We’re in a scary position with all this talk of this gerrymandering arms race between⁢ Texas and California,” said⁤ Conyers Davis, global‍ director of the USC Schwarzenegger Institute for State and ⁣Global Policy.‌ “It’s really a ⁢race to the bottom for voters in ⁤both states and the entire ⁢country as a whole. We should‌ be ‍celebrating California’s citizen ⁣redistricting commission and looking to expand that​ model into other states,‍ not looking for⁤ political ways to dismember it and ⁣erode⁢ its powers.”

Ironically, the California Republican party, which​ initially opposed the creation of the⁣ autonomous redistricting commission, now‌ supports the body as a proposal to alter it could led ‌to a loss​ of ⁤GOP seats. “to sort of start to mess with it right at this point in time, it⁢ just kind⁤ of undermines the whole independent⁣ redistricting commission ‍that everybody ⁣has come to rely ‌on,” said ⁢corrin Rankin, chairwoman of ⁣the California Republican Party, questioning the constitutional implications of any changes.California Democrats, who also opposed the commission’s formation,​ have embraced the idea of ⁢a ⁢retaliatory move. “Trump and republicans – from D.C. to Texas – are attempting to ⁢rewrite the rules of our ⁤democracy,” stated‍ Rusty Hicks,chairman of the California Democratic Party.”With so much at stake, California might potentially be left with little choice but to fight fire with fire⁢ to protect‌ and preserve our‍ democracy.”