Justice Department alleges racial gerrymandering in California map lawsuit
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
The Justice Department intervened Thursday in a lawsuit against Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom that challenges California’s effort to redraw the state’s congressional map in time for the upcoming election.
Lawyers for the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division argued in a complaint that race was “used as a proxy” in California to justify the creation of Democratic-leaning districts, a move that served to offset confrontation over redistricting in Texas that resulted in more Republican-leaning districts.
“In the press, California lawmakers and the governor have sold a plan to advance Democratic interests in the upcoming midterm elections,” the DOJ lawyers wrote. “But between them and in the debates, the focus was not on partisanship, but on race.”
CALIFORNIA REPUBLICANS SUIT TO PREVENT NEWSOM, DEMOCRATS FROM PUSHING REDISTRIBUTION PLAN
Attorney General Pam Bondi (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
They added that the Constitution “does not tolerate this racial gerrymander” and cited several remarks from lawmakers and others involved in the process about how they prioritized creating a majority-Latino district to counter Texas’ perceived attempt to “silence the voices of Latino voters.”
The federal government has the authority to enforce the Voting Rights Act, which contains a provision intended to ensure that voters are not disenfranchised because of their race. But the wording of the law has long been a subject of controversy and is currently under review by the Supreme Court in a separate redistricting case involving Louisiana’s map.
The California ballot measure, called Proposition 50, passed on Election Day and clears the way for the state Legislature to redraw districts that could flip five Republican seats. Newsom said in celebratory remarks after the measure’s passage that it was California’s answer to Trump “trying to rig the midterm elections before a single vote was cast.”
“DISTRIBUTED OBSESSION”: NEWSOM SUBJECT TO LAWSUIT FOR “REPRESALATION” REDISTRIBUTION RUSH IN CALIFORNIA
California Governor Gavin Newsom during a bill signing event related to redrawing the state’s congressional maps, August 21, 2025, in Sacramento, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Opponents of California’s Proposition 50, also known as the Election Rigging Response Act, a California ballot measure that would redraw congressional maps to benefit Democrats, rally in Westminster, California, on September 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, file)
“However, one thing he never counted on was the state of California,” Newsom said. “Instead of agonizing over the state of our nation, we organized in an unprecedented way, in a 90-day sprint.”
California Assemblyman David Tangipa, a Republican, responded by suing, and the DOJ joined that lawsuit on Thursday.
A spokesperson for Newsom told Fox News Digital: “These losers lost at the polls and soon they will lose in court, too.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The legal battle comes as redistricting struggles have intensified in the run-up to the 2026 midterm elections. Besides Texas and California, Louisiana’s Supreme Court fight could affect its map between now and the next election, depending on when the high court rules. In Utah, Republicans just received a major blow from a state judge who approved a new map that will tilt one of the state’s four districts in favor of Democrats.
