Newsom: We’re Putting Redistricting Maps on the Ballot, and We’re Giving the Power to the People

Newsom: “So, we’re here in that light, and I’m grateful to have remarkable partners in the legislature. It’s a tall task. We’re asking them for two thirds of legislative consent. But this is the difference. This is the difference between what’s happening in Texas and what’s happening here in California. We didn’t receive a phone call from the president of the United States to then quietly go in the backroom and start drawing maps and legislatively try to jam them through against the consent of the people. We’re doing precisely the opposite. We’re working through a very transparent, temporary and public process.”

UNKNOWN: “That’s who we are!”

Newsom: “We’re putting the maps on the ballot and we’re giving the power to the people. This will be the first redistricting that’s ever done that. (cheers and applause) That’s the difference. We tried to raise the standards. And these guys are not playing by any set of rules. So, this time requires us to act anew, not just think anew. And so, I’m grateful to all of the remarkable leaders that have stepped up, this unifying effort here in the state of California. And we’ll be asking for the people on November 4th, a special election, coinciding with a lot of local municipal elections, to provide a temporary pathway for congressional maps. We will affirm our commitment to the state independent redistricting after the 2030 census. But we’re asking the voters for their consent to do midterm redistricting in 2026, 2028, and 2030, for the congressional maps, to respond to what’s happening in Texas, to respond what Trump is trying to excite. And we’ll do so in a way that also affirms our desire as a state to level the playing field all across the United States. We believe in a national independent redistricting framework. And we believe that’s the right goal and the right thing to pursue.”