Don’t upend fairness: Say no to mid-cycle redistricting in California | Opinion

At a time when Americans already have a deep mistrust of government, the last thing Californians need is a return to the days of backroom redistricting deals and political gamesmanship. Yet that is exactly what Gov. Gavin Newsom is promoting with his mid-cycle redistricting proposal.

The governor’s proposal is an invitation to chaos, confusion and manipulation.

Right now, politicians on both sides of the political divide are trying to use mid-cycle redistricting to undermine our democracy. Redistricting is the system used to draw Congressional and state legislative districts. In order to ensure that elected officials each represent approximately the same number of people, we re-draw district lines (redistrict) every 10 years, using the numbers from the federal census.

California voters spent years fighting for a redistricting process that puts power in the hands of the people, not politicians. The passage of Proposition 11 in 2008 created a Citizens Redistricting Commission, an independent, nonpartisan body tasked with drawing fair legislative boundaries once every 10 years, following the federal census. It was a bold and necessary reform that ended decades of political manipulation (called gerrymandering) that was used to protect incumbents and entrench party power.

But current calls for mid-decade redistricting threaten to unravel that progress. Newsom’s suggestion to gerrymander California to counter Texas gerrymandering shouldn’t be at the expense of his own constituents and fair representation for Californians.

Any district lines drawn today would be based on census data from 2020. The idea of redrawing districts mid-cycle (between U.S. Census takings) is not only impractical, it is deeply undemocratic. The Citizens Redistricting Commission drew the best lines they could based on the 2020 census data. They did this in an open, transparent process. Doing it again based on the same data would just be a huge waste of taxpayer dollars — in addition to being impractical and sowing confusion.

Both the California Constitution and U.S. Constitution require that redistricting occur once per decade to ensure the maps reflect the most accurate and current population data. Trying to redraw lines mid-cycle — whether to address political grievances or capitalize on shifting electoral dynamics — undermines the very foundation of fair representation. In addition, any attempt to gerrymander to gain seats for one party or the other ignores the growing number of voters in California who register as independent or No Party Preference voters.

We’ve seen what happens when politicians draw the lines. After the 2000 census, California’s maps became an “incumbent protection plan.” They were engineered so effectively that not one incumbent lost re-election in the 2002 and 2004 legislative races. Only three seats changed party hands out of 200 races. That’s not democracy; it’s rigging the game.

California’s system for drawing district lines has built-in safeguards. The Citizens Commission follows strict rules that require transparency and public input, and that factor in the concerns and needs of communities of interest without considering partisan, political interests.

If a legal challenge emerges, the courts can order adjustments within this fair and balanced system rather than toss out the entire process midstream. The redistricting following the 2020 census received no legal challenges.

What’s more, mid-decade redistricting would sow electoral confusion: Candidates and voters alike would be forced to navigate shifting districts and new political landscapes five years after the last time the lines were drawn with little notice. Election officials would scramble to update systems, voter rolls and ballots. The resulting chaos would hurt turnout and further erode public trust in our elections systems.

Redistricting should never be a tool of political opportunity. It should be a careful, transparent and rare undertaking guided not by partisan ambition but by data, public input and the goal of ensuring that Californians are fairly represented in government.

California has become a national model for independent redistricting. Let’s protect the integrity of our democratic process and reject the dangerous idea of mid-cycle redistricting.

Gloria Chun Hoo is president of the League of Women Voters of California. The League was a proponent of Proposition 11 in 2008 and it continues to advocate for fair redistricting throughout California and the nation.

This story was originally published July 30, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Don’t upend fairness: Say no to mid-cycle redistricting in California | Opinion."