There’s a reason that democracies need reasonable ground rules that everyone in every political camp supports. Without them, politics turns into a blood sport—with each side doing anything it can to seek advantage, even if it undermines the integrity of elections and democracy itself. We’ve seen the fruits of this after Donald Trump disputed the 2020 presidential election, with overall faith in U.S. election integrity suffering dearly as a result.
The redistricting battle is the latest ground zero in this ongoing partisan battle. States typically do this every 10 years after the Census count to reflect shifts in population. Most state legislatures are charged with drawing the lines, which is why most states are plagued by absurd gerrymanders. A handful of states, including California, use independent redistricting commissions to come up with boundaries that are less rigged for partisan benefit.
California’s Democrats—led by Gov. Gavin Newsom—just released new highly gerrymandered congressional district maps that are designed to counter efforts by Republicans to engage in mid-decade redistricting in Texas and some other states, possibly Indiana. The president started this fight by asking the Texas GOP to come up with five extra Republican seats.
The California maps are terrible. For instance, the conservative rural North State would be denied any real representation as the district would swoop down to take in Marin County, the liberal bastion just north of the Golden Gate Bridge. Southern California would become a sea of blue except for a couple of red-leaning outliers—breaking up the vote in cities in the process.
Newsom’s “Election Rigging Response Act,” which would require a legislative vote and approval by voters in a special election, would only take effect if Texas or another state passes its redistricting. It’s defensive and could backfire. It undermines California’s independent commission, albeit only on a temporary basis. Democrats say that if they don’t fight back, Republican state lawmakers will simply create enough new GOP districts to keep control of the House of Representatives in 2026.
They have a point, but it would be wrong to mess with our redistricting commission, which was voter approved and something of a national model. Republican complaints would be easier to take if they weren’t so transparent. Mainly, they express outrage at these maps, even as they stay silent or support the president’s meddling in other states. Hypocrisy abounds on both sides on this issue.
U.S. Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Rocklin, has the right idea. He introduced a bill banning mid-decade redistricting everywhere. That type of measure is the key to restoring some of those reasonable ground rules that will enable our democracy to thrive. Before listening to any politician from either party’s take on this, first ask them whether they support the Kiley bill. If they don’t, then you can take whatever else they say with the proverbial, partisan grain of salt.