A date is set for the California GOP’s lawsuit against the state’s redistricting plan, in which it will argue that Proposition 50 is unconstitutional.
Judge Josephine L. Staton of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ordered the plaintiffs in the lawsuit against California’s redistricting plan to appear in court on Dec. 3 for an initial hearing, according to documents shared with the Washington Examiner.
Republican California state Assemblyman David Tangipa and his Republican colleagues filed the lawsuit against Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) and California Secretary of State Shirley Weber after they said the redistricting plan predominantly uses race for allocating political power. If upheld by the court, both of these allegations would be in direct violation of the Constitution’s 14th and 15th amendments.
The initial appearance would provide an opportunity for the plaintiffs and intervenor plaintiffs to present arguments for a temporary court order against Prop 50, commonly referred to as a preliminary injunction.
In the hearing, Newsom’s team will also present arguments against the preliminary injunction, which must be filed with the court by Nov. 21.
The hearing will also give the Justice Department and the California GOP an opportunity to respond to the defendant’s arguments, which they will submit to the court before Nov. 24.
“Race cannot be used as a proxy to advance political interests,” the Republicans’ lawsuit says.
Tangipa argued that the only reason voters of the heavily Democratic state passed Prop 50 on Nov. 4 was because the electorate was unaware of the racial discrimination in Newsom’s redistricted congressional map, and were only focused on handing President Donald Trump a defeat instead.
“Prop 50 was a pretty big push for them, and they had to do a lot,” Tangipa said. “They didn’t even run for Prop 50; they just ran against Trump.”
Prop 50 passed during the special election with nearly 65% of the vote.
If Prop 50, also known as the Election Rigging Response Act, were to be upheld by the court, Democrats could flip as many as five Republican-held California districts next year.
DOJ CHALLENGES CALIFORNIA’S PROP 50 MAP IN ESCALATING FIGHT OVER HOUSE MAJORITY
Newsom’s redistricting plan is a direct response to a new congressional map in Texas, which gave Republicans five more House seats.
Ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, red states have gone measure for measure with blue states to gain as many new congressional seats as possible.