The Supreme Court ruled in favor of California’s new congressional map favoring Democrats ahead of the midterm elections.
There are no public dissents on the Court’s ruling. The decision follows the Supreme Court’s upholding of a redrawn map of Texas districts.
Attorney General Rob Bonta celebrated the decision, stating, “The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision is good news not only for Californians, but for our democracy.”
“Let’s remember how we got here. President Trump told Governor Greg Abbott that Republicans were ‘entitled’ to five more Congressional seats, and Texas Republicans fell in line,” he continued. “In direct response, and for explicitly partisan reasons, Governor Gavin Newsom and our Legislature advanced Proposition 50, presented it to the voters, and Californians overwhelmingly supported it. With this latest win, my office has now successfully defended this critical ballot initiative on behalf of Governor Newsom and Secretary of State Weber on seven occasions — and we stand ready to continue defending it as necessary.”
Last month, California Republicans urged the Supreme Court to block the state’s new congressional map, accusing state officials of gerrymandering. According to the filing, California “expressly used race as the ‘predominant factor’ in placing ‘a significant number of voters within or without’ Congressional District 13.” If the matter is not addressed, the “pernicious and unconstitutional use of race will irreparably harm Applicants and the public.”
The Department of Justice also urged the Supreme Court to take California Republicans’ case. Solicitor General John Sauer wrote in the filing that the state’s recent redistricting is “tainted by an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.”
“But unlike Texas’s map, the Prop 50 map suffers from a fatal constitutional flaw: one of the districts (District 13) was clearly drawn ‘on the basis of race,’” Sauer added, noting that the “mapmaker himself confirmed as much.”
