A federal lawsuit filed by the California Republican Party aims to block Prop 50, arguing that it “unconstitutionally gerrymanders districts in violation of the 14th and 15th Amendments.”
The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court against Governor Gavin Newsom and California Secretary of State Shirley Weber, declares that state lawmakers violated the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments upon drawing “new congressional district lines based on race, specifically to favor Hispanic voters, without cause or evidence to justify it.”
“California’s Hispanic voters have successfully elected their preferred candidates to both state and federal office, without being thwarted by a racial majority voting as a bloc,” the lawsuit says. “This is unsurprising because Latinos are the most numerous demographic in the state and California voters nearly always vote based on their party affiliation, not their race.”
“Plaintiffs ask the Court to invalidate the unconstitutional racially gerrymandered Proposition 50 map and require that any future use of race in drawing lines comply with the Equal Protection Clause to ensure all Californians enjoy equal protection under the law,” the filing adds.
Responding to the lawsuit on X, Newsom’s press office said, “We haven’t reviewed the lawsuit, but if it’s from the California Republican Party and Harmeet Dhillon’s law firm, it’s going to fail.”
“Good luck, losers,” the press office stated.
Prior to the redistricting vote, California Republicans have called for the state’s Supreme Court to block Newsom’s plan.
Assembly member Tri Ta announced on social media in August that he joined his colleagues in “filing a lawsuit challenging the rushed redistricting process. California’s Constitution requires bills to be in print for 30 days, but that safeguard was ignored. By bypassing this provision, Sacramento has effectively shut voters out of engaging in their own legislative process.”
