SAN FRANCISCO - AUGUST 25: San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom talks with reporters before test driving a plug-in version of the popular Toyota Prius that is one of four on loan to the city for evaluation August 25, 2010 in San Francisco, California. With sales of electric and plug-in hybrid cars expected to increase in the coming years, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District has set aside $5 million to increase the number of electric car charging stations to 5,000 around the Bay Area. There are currently 120 stations in the area. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Sacramento, California – California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday that the state will hold a special election in early November for voters to decide on a ballot measure that could allow Democrats to pass a new congressional map ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Standing alongside California lawmakers and Texas Democrats who fled their state to block GOP redistricting plans, Newsom said the measure would be an “emergency response” to Republican efforts in Texas to redraw their House map in a way that could give the party five additional seats next year.
“We have till Aug. 22. With the leadership behind me, they will get this on the ballot,” Newsom said. “We’re calling for a special election, that will be the first week of November.”
Under the proposal, California would temporarily bypass its independent redistricting commission — the nonpartisan body tasked with drawing the state’s political boundaries — in order to approve a new Democratic-drafted map. Newsom emphasized that the goal was not to dismantle the commission permanently but to act in direct response to Republican maneuvers in Texas.
“We are talking about emergency measures to respond to what’s happening in Texas,” Newsom said. “And we will nullify what happens in Texas.”
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, who chairs California’s Democratic congressional delegation, said her members unanimously support the plan after reviewing legal and demographic analyses. She said Democrats believe they can draw a map that picks up five seats for their party while staying within the bounds of the Voting Rights Act.
“So as we went through the details of the possibilities, I’m happy to report that every single member of the California delegation is willing to support a plan to do that,” Lofgren said.
The plan would make California the first Democratic-led state to take concrete steps toward passing new congressional lines in response to Republican-led redistricting elsewhere. GOP lawmakers in Texas, under pressure from President Trump, are aiming to secure five new Republican-leaning districts as they prepare for what could be a difficult midterm election cycle.
Newsom argued that while Democrats support the principle of independent redistricting, California cannot “unilaterally disarm” when Republicans are aggressively redrawing maps in their favor.
“We believe in independent redistricting, that will be on the ballot,” Newsom said. “We believe it should be nationalized. That will be on the ballot. We have the opportunity to send a message: enough.”
If approved by voters in November, the measure would allow the new lines to be drawn and reviewed in the months leading up to the 2026 election, giving Democrats the opportunity to counterbalance expected Republican gains in Texas and other states.
