(The Center Square) – A federal lawsuit challenging California’s congressional redistricting had its first day in court Monday in Los Angeles.
Josephine L. Staton is the presiding judge in the case at the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
The U.S. Department of Justice is among the plaintiffs in the legal challenge to Proposition 50, which passed during the Nov. 4 election and gave Democrats the potential to pick up five new seats in the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2026 midterm election. The measure was in response to Texas’ own mid-decade redistricting effort. The redistricting in Texas gave Republican lawmakers there the opportunity to also get five new seats in the House.
Plaintiffs in the California lawsuit are seeking a preliminary injunction to block the implementation of the districts’ new boundaries.
“We want our day in court to make sure we’re making all of our arguments and the people are heard,” Assemblymember David Tangipa, R-Fresno, previously told The Center Square.
“Under the [Voting Rights Act], there are very clear standards,” said Tangipa, one of the plaintiffs in the suit. “I do believe the state of California did not follow those standards.”
Tangipa was not available to answer questions before press time on Monday.
Last month, a federal court blocked Texas’ redistricting campaign, stating that the Republican majority there violated voting rights laws by re-drawing districts that discriminated against voters of color, according to previous reporting by The Center Square. California’s Democrats, who pushed the Prop. 50 special election on Nov. 4, face similar accusations, The Center Square previously reported.
However, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the new congressional district maps from Texas, writing in the 6-3 decision that the Lone Star State was likely to win on the merits of the case. Supreme Court justices also said that the lower courts committed two serious legal errors and proceeded to chastise lower court judges.
With the outcome of the Texas case, it is unclear if California will face a similar court decision in the lawsuit over Prop. 50.
“In letting Texas use its gerrymandered maps, the Supreme Court noted that California’s maps, like Texas’s, were drawn for lawful reasons,” Brandon Richards, deputy director for rapid response for the governor’s office, wrote to The Center Square in an email on Monday. “That should be the beginning and the end of this Republican effort to silence the voters of California.”
The lawsuit isn’t the only one over Prop. 60. Another lawsuit, filed by Mitch Noyes, Holden Lomeli, and Anthony McBroom, was filed against Newsom and California Secretary of State Shirley Weber. That case was also filed in U.S. District Court in the Central District in Los Angeles, according to a the complaint.
State lawmakers who sit on elections committees in the Assembly and the state Senate did not respond to The Center Square on Monday. The Fair Political Practices Commission did not respond to The Center Square on Monday. The Citizens Redistricting Commission, which normally draws state and federal district maps, and the Secretary of State’s Office also did not respond.
