California Governor Gavin Newsom has called a 4 November statewide special election to ask voters to suspend the state’s independent redistricting rules and approve new congressional maps that would be used in 2026, 2028 and 2030. The proposal, unveiled by Democratic leaders in Sacramento on 15 August, must first secure a two-thirds vote in the Legislature next week to reach the ballot. Draft district lines posted by the Assembly and developed with input from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee would flip as many as five Republican-held seats and reinforce roughly five Democratic incumbents viewed as vulnerable. Newsom said the plan is a direct response to a mid-cycle map in Texas, backed by President Donald Trump, that seeks to give Republicans five additional House seats. “We cannot unilaterally disarm,” the governor told reporters. Republicans immediately branded the move an “illegal power grab.” The National Republican Congressional Committee said it will sue if the measure advances, while former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger—who championed the 2008 ballot measures that created California’s Citizens Redistricting Commission—vowed to “terminate” the effort to keep partisan map-drawing out of state politics. Early polling published by the Los Angeles Times opinion desk shows only 36 percent of Californians favor mid-decade redistricting, highlighting the political risk for Newsom as he courts national attention ahead of the 2028 presidential cycle. Supporters say the campaign will spend “tens of millions” of dollars to persuade voters that the temporary maps are needed to counter Republican gerrymanders elsewhere; opponents argue the plan undercuts the state’s reputation for non-partisan redistricting and distracts from an $11.8 billion budget deficit.