California’s Democratic-controlled Legislature on Thursday approved a three-bill package that would replace the state’s current congressional boundaries with a Democratic-drawn map projected to add as many as five U.S. House seats for the party in the 2026 midterm elections. The measures cleared both chambers largely along party lines, exceeding the two-thirds threshold required for urgent legislation. Minutes after the vote, Governor Gavin Newsom signed the bills, setting a Nov. 4 special election in which voters will decide whether to adopt the new lines and temporarily sideline the state’s independent redistricting commission through 2030. If the ballot measure passes, the map would raise the number of Democratic-leaning districts from 43 to as many as 48 out of 52 and could threaten Republican incumbents Doug LaMalfa, Darrell Issa, Ken Calvert and David Valadao. Democratic leaders framed the move as a direct response to a Texas plan approved a day earlier that is designed to give Republicans five additional seats, a strategy encouraged by President Donald Trump. The tit-for-tat escalation highlights the stakes in the national fight for House control; Democrats are currently three seats short of a majority, and mid-decade redraws in large states could determine the chamber’s balance in 2026. California Republicans called the legislation a partisan power grab, filed a lawsuit and urged federal authorities to review the plan’s costs and legality. Supporters, including former President Barack Obama, argued that putting the map to a statewide vote preserves democratic principles while countering what they describe as GOP gerrymandering elsewhere. The measure’s fate—and potentially the shape of the 2026 electoral map—now rests with California voters.