Sacramento, California
AP
—
A federal three-judge panel on Wednesday allowed California to use a new voter-approved US House map that’s designed to increase Democrats within the 2026 midterms.
In a 2-1 ruling, the panel in Los Angeles denied requests from state Republicans and the US Justice Department to block the map from being utilized in future elections. The criticism accused California of violating the Constitution by utilizing race as an element to favor Hispanic voters when drawing the new district strains.
The map, geared toward giving Democrats a shot at flipping as many as 5 House seats subsequent yr, was decisively approved by voters through Proposition 50 in November. The effort was pushed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who’s eying a 2028 presidential run, to counter a similar effort in Texas backed by President Donald Trump to assist Republicans win 5 House seats. California Republicans at the moment maintain 9 of the state’s 52 congressional seats.
The ruling is a victory for Democrats within the state-by-state mid-decade redistricting battle that would assist decide which get together wins management of the US House in 2026.
“Republicans’ weak attempt to silence voters failed,” Newsom stated in a press release.
Republicans are anticipated to enchantment the choice to the US Supreme Court. A consultant for state Republicans didn’t instantly reply to a request for feedback.
California Democrats stated that the new map was authorized as a result of it was drawn for partisan benefit. The US Supreme Court dominated in 2019 that partisan gerrymandering is a political query and never one for the federal courts to resolve. The courtroom agreed, saying there was not sturdy proof to help the maps had been drawn based mostly on race.
“After reviewing the evidence, we conclude that it was exactly as one would think: it was partisan,” the judges wrote.
The ruling additionally comes after the Supreme Court ruled in December to allow Texas to use its new map for the 2026 election as a result of it was drawn with partisan objectives. Conservative Justice Samuel Alito wrote in a concurring opinion that the California map was also approved for political advantage, signaling it might additionally stand.
New House maps are drawn throughout the nation after the Census each 10 years. Some states like California depend on an unbiased fee to draw maps whereas others like Texas let politicians draw them. The effort to create new maps within the center of the last decade is very uncommon.
House Democrats want to achieve only a handful of seats subsequent yr to take management of the chamber, which may thwart Trump’s agenda for the rest of his time period and open the best way for congressional investigations into his administration.