California voters will resolve on Tuesday in the event that they need to undertake a brand new congressional map — a transfer which Democratic leaders hope will help their party win 5 extra seats.
The map can be the primary main response from Democrats in opposition to unprecedented Republican efforts, led by President Donald Trump, to redraw congressional maps this 12 months to assist shield the party’s narrow majority within the House forward of the 2026 midterm elections.
Redistricting, or the method of redrawing congressional district boundaries, sometimes takes place just once a decade, as states reply to up to date inhabitants counts after the decennial census.
But this 12 months, with a traditionally tight House of Representatives, redistricting has turn into a important tactic to shaping the midterm races.
The redistricting course of is completely different in each state. In some locations, state legislators can redraw the map on their very own, and all that’s wanted is the political will. In different states, the redraw may require altering the structure, a lengthier course of which regularly entails a direct vote of the folks.
Overall, Republicans have extra alternatives to realize seats by new maps than Democrats do. Republicans have full management of presidency in additional states and plenty of Democratic states have ceded the map-drawing power to unbiased commissions, strikes a few of them are actually making an attempt to reverse.
2025 has already featured an unprecedented stage of politically motivated mid-decade redistricting, however there may very well be much more in retailer. In many states, authorized challenges goal to overturn present maps. And on the Supreme Court, the justices may be poised to strike down key components of the landmark Voting Rights Act, a choice which might open the floodgates to much more aggressive maps.