Supreme Court Allows California to Implement New Congressional Map
WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court on Wednesday, , allowed California to proceed with a new congressional map approved by voters, a decision that is expected to bolster Democrats’ chances in this year’s midterm elections. The court rejected a challenge brought by state Republicans and the Trump administration, clearing the way for the map to be used in the upcoming elections.
The court’s order was brief, consisting of a single sentence and lacking any public dissents. This decision follows a similar ruling in December, where the justices allowed Texas to use a new map intended to give Republicans an advantage in that state, despite concerns about racial discrimination raised in lower courts. According to Justice Samuel Alito, who penned a concurring opinion in the Texas case, the impetus behind both the Texas and California maps appeared to be “partisan advantage pure and simple.”
California’s path to the new map was somewhat more complex than Texas’s. While the Texas map was enacted by the state legislature, California’s map was initially drawn by Democratic lawmakers but required voter approval due to the state constitution, which typically grants redistricting power to an independent commission. The legislation enacting the new map proposed Proposition 50, a ballot initiative approved by voters in November, allowing the use of the new map from through .
Republicans argued that the California map was racially gerrymandered, but a federal district court disagreed, concluding that the lines were drawn primarily on a partisan basis. The court’s decision came after a similar ruling last month refusing to block the map. Republicans had requested the Supreme Court act by , as the candidate filing deadline in California is , with the primary election scheduled for June.
The new map is anticipated to give Democrats the opportunity to pick up as many as five House seats, potentially strengthening their position in the chamber. California Governor Gavin Newsom, a proponent of the redistricting effort, framed it as a response to the map enacted in Texas, stating, “Donald Trump said he was ‘entitled’ to five more Congressional seats in Texas. He started this redistricting war. He lost, and he’ll lose again in November.”
The California Republican Party, along with the Trump administration, had filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to block the map, alleging an illegal reliance on race in its design. However, the lower court’s 2-1 decision sided with the state, finding no evidence of racial gerrymandering.
This ruling marks a significant victory for Democrats as they seek to gain a majority in the House of Representatives this fall. The decision allows California to move forward with its elections using the new district lines, potentially reshaping the political landscape in the state and nationally.
