Plaintiffs asked for an expedited order by Friday, judges say ruling will come down Monday.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A three-judge federal panel is expected to rule Monday on whether California’s temporary congressional maps approved under Proposition 50 are constitutional, following a closely watched legal challenge brought by state Republicans and the U.S. Department of Justice.
Court transcripts from the three-day hearing suggest the judges may be leaning toward upholding the voter-approved maps, which temporarily redraw California’s congressional districts ahead of future elections.
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The lawsuit centers on whether Proposition 50 amounts to unconstitutional racial gerrymandering. Democrats and state officials argue the maps were drawn for political reasons — specifically to give Democrats a five-seat advantage in response to Texas’ mid-decade redistricting that favored Republicans by the same margin.
Republicans, however, contend race was a motivating factor in drawing the new lines, unlawfully boosting Latino and Hispanic voters in violation of the Voting Rights Act.
Judges appeared to question whether the plaintiffs were placing too much emphasis on the intent behind the maps rather than their effect, noting that California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 50 at the ballot box.
Republican Assemblymember David Tangipa, one of the plaintiffs, said voter approval does not override constitutional concerns.
“Regardless of the voters, it’s about whether it’s constitutional or not,” Tangipa said. “If the founding of these bills and race plays an element in these bills, then the judge must look at it through that lens.”
Tangipa argues that while the Voting Rights Act allows race to be considered in redistricting under certain circumstances, those provisions apply only when minority voting power is being diluted or disadvantaged. He maintains that because no voting group in California faces that disadvantage, race should not have been used as a factor in drawing the new districts.
“So, intention matters to you?” we asked Tangipa during an interview.
“I believe so,” he answered with a chuckle.
Supporters of Proposition 50 counter that the legal challenge ignores a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding Texas’ redistricting maps, despite claims they diluted minority voting power.
A spokesperson for Gov. Gavin Newsom said earlier this week that the Texas ruling “should be the beginning and the end of this Republican effort to silence the voters of California.”
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