California Republicans announced a legal challenge Monday against Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) effort to redraw congressional lines in the state, days after the state Legislature approved a redistricting ballot measure to go before voters this fall.
The petition, as described at a Monday press conference, asks the state Supreme Court to intervene and keep Proposition 50 off the ballot.
“As our petition to the Supreme Court, filed an hour ago, says, they broke the rules in multiple ways. One, they combined two unrelated subjects into one measure, forcing voters into an illegal take-it-or-leave-it choice on two separate subjects,” said Mike Columbo, a partner at Dhillon Law Group, speaking alongside California Republicans.
“Two, the constitutional provisions in force now say that redistricting has to be done by the independent citizens commissions. … By engaging in the redistricting process already before asking for voters to grant it the power to do so, the Legislature has exceeded its power under the Constitution,” Columbo said. He cited issues with the timing and transparency of the redistricting plan.
It’s the second challenge from California Republican legislators, who last week had filed suit with a petition asking the state Supreme Court to block action on the legislation, arguing that the rush to vote on the legislation package violated the state constitution. The state court rejected that petition Wednesday, allowing the efforts to move forward in the Legislature.
The latest petition again raises that argument, according to Monday’s press conference.
Assembly members Kate Sanchez and Tri Ta are among the petitioners, along with state Sens. Suzette Martinez Valladares and Tony Strickland. Democratic Secretary of State Shirley Weber was specifically named as a respondent, according to a copy of the 400-page document shared by Bloomberg Law.
The Democratic-controlled Legislature easily passed a three-part legislative package on redistricting last week, teeing up a Nov. 4 special election for a ballot measure that, if approved by voters, would let Democrats redraw congressional lines as a response to GOP-friendly redistricting in Texas.
The Lone Star State’s Republican-held Legislature gave the green light this weekend to a plan that could net five red seats — and California’s aiming to net five blue seats, effectively nullifying the Texas push.
Unlike in Texas, where approval from the governor and state legislators is all that’s needed to change the maps, California needs voters to OK the ballot measure in order to circumvent the existing independent redistricting commission.
Republicans have largely argued that the plan goes against the will of the voters, who approved the citizens commission in 2008 and 2010, while questioning who drew the maps and criticizing the cost of a special election.
“We want to preserve the Constitution and preserve our right to choose who represents us,” California Republican Party Chair Corrin Rankin said during Monday’s press conference, livestreamed by the state party.
“Although I’m the chair, this is a nonpartisan issue,” Rankin said.
President Trump on Monday also vowed to file a lawsuit against California over the redistricting push, saying, “I think we’re going to be very successful in it.”
Trump has been a proponent of the Republican redistricting push in Texas. The GOP holds a slim 219-212 majority in the House, and control of Congress could come down to just a few seats in next year’s midterms.
The GOP currently controls just nine of California’s 52 House slots. The Golden State Republican incumbents affected by the new map are Reps. Kevin Kiley, Doug LaMalfa, Darrell Issa, Ken Calvert and David Valadao.
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