Following the passage of Proposition 50 (Prop 50), where California voters voted upon the redrawing of Congressional districts to favor Democrats in five additional seats in the midterm elections in the following year will be in effect until 2030. Republicans launched a lawsuit the day after it passed in an attempt to block Prop 50. Prior to election day, it was frequently referred to by Democrats as a chance to help “put our elections back on a level playing field,” as former President Barack Obama shared on his social media pages.
California’s Governor Gavin Newsom introduced Prop 50 as a response to Texas Republicans’ decision to redraw their own districts to favor their party in five districts. The Governor and Democrats have referred to it as the “Election Rigging Response Act,” as it sought to rebalance the power distribution that was initiated by Texas Republicans.
The plaintiffs are being represented by the Dhillon Law Group, the firm who “unsuccessfully” represented California Republicans earlier this year in their attempt to prevent the election on the ballot from taking place in the first place. They are asking the court to “invalidate the map” and prevent further redistricting efforts from taking the same course of action Prop 50 has, as they are claiming that it “favors Latino voters” as it would “separate citizens into different voting districts on the basis of race.”
The lawsuit argues that the 14th and 15th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution have been violated by the ballot measure. The 14th Amendment declares all people born within the confines of the United States to be citizens of the country, and the 15th Amendment prevents citizens from being denied their voting rights based on their race.
To return to the claim that Prop 50 gives preference to Latino voters, The Guardian provides insight to this claim by drawing from an analysis done by the Public Policy Institute of California’s where it was found that “the new congressional boundaries created by Proposition 50 leaves racial representation nearly unchanged.”
The Democratic House Minority Leader has spoken out against the lawsuit by calling it “frivolous,” and points out that the Texas Republicans’ district redrawing is in fact expected to “flip seats held by Black or Hispanic Congressmen.” Republicans allege that Prop 50 disproportionately favors the votes of one race over others.
Governor Newsom appears to maintain a blasé attitude towards this lawsuit proving to be fruitful as he has shared posts targeted towards President Trump and the remaining Republicans stating, “Good luck, losers” and “Cry harder.” The Governor’s reaction stems from the previously mentioned fact that the law firm representing California Republicans in this lawsuit was unsuccessful in stopping Prop 50 from being voted on.
