Newsom hits back with redistricting plan. What does that mean for California?

S1: Welcome in San Diego. It's Jade Hindman. On today's show , we'll dig into the redistricting battle between Texas and California. This is KPBS Midday Edition. Connecting our communities through conversation. Good afternoon. It is Monday , August 18th , and the trending story across the country right now is redistricting and gerrymandering. Last week , Governor Gavin Newsom announced plans to move forward with his redistricting fight. The proposed ballot measure is known as the Election Rigging Response Act. If passed by voters in November , it would temporarily redraw California's congressional maps to gain more seats for the Democrats. But first , California's state legislature has to agree to put the measure on the ballot. The move is a direct response to a Republican led effort in Texas , backed by President Donald Trump , to gain more Republican seats. Joining me to break down the act is Phil Sines. He is a political science professor at Southwestern College. Professor sines welcome.

S2: Well , thank you very much. Good afternoon.

S1: Good afternoon. And we're glad to have you here , because we certainly want to want to break all of this down and all of these terms. All right. So Newsom is calling for a special election.

S2: They're going to be working out the details they have until Friday in order to meet the deadline to qualify for the November election.

S1: Well , last Friday , California Democrats also released the new congressional map.

S2: So the trigger was that if Texas was going to continue to move forward with trying to gerrymander their boundaries to increase the representation of Republicans by five. That that would trigger the response from California. And so that's why we are where we are today.

S1: And remind us what Republicans are pushing for , exactly in Texas , and why this effort is being heavily backed by Donald Trump.

S2: Well , historically , presidents parties have not done well during the midterm elections , and this particular administration has done a lot of controversial things. And he's concerned. He's concerned that there's barely a slim majority right now , the Republicans controlling both houses. But it could go the other way. So in order to try in order to try to ensure that the Republicans still have power , he went to Texas and now other states to try to redraw the boundaries in such a way to increase their party's chances of taking power in the next election. So they decided Texas did , to try to redraw the boundaries and increase the representation by five for Republicans. And without a quorum , they were we're not able to vote on it. So the Democrats that represent the state decided to leave the state , because otherwise , if they stayed in the state , they could be corralled in and forced to vote. And so as a response to that , the state of California and other states are now deciding , well , if Texas is going to move forward with that , then California needs to respond. So they decided to have this , you know , redrawing of the map so that there's Democrats who will have five additional seats in California. Yeah.

S1: Yeah. And I know those Texas Democrats are heading back to the state today. You know , one of the words we hear to characterize what's happening in Texas is gerrymandering. So can you break that down for us and tell us how it works ? Okay.

S2: Well , gerrymandering is a term that was developed as a result of what happened in 1812 , in Massachusetts by a governor whose last name was Gerry. And he was trying to intentionally manipulate the boundaries in such a way to win an election , and it sometimes could either be used by an incumbent or. For a party to increase their chances of winning. So it is a definite manipulation of the boundaries. So I think it's important for the listeners to understand that we have 435 congressional districts , and they're all supposed to be roughly the same in population. And every ten years we have a census. So we want to make sure that they're roughly the same. But there's ways to draw them. There's ways to draw them objectively and be neutral , or to manipulate them to increase either your chances of winning as an incumbent or your party's chances. So when when the governor of in 1812 , in Massachusetts drew the boundaries , it resembled a salamander. So they ended up calling it gerrymandering , and it became a verb. Anytime there's an intentional manipulation of the boundaries to increase the chances of a party or an incumbent of winning , they call a general gerrymandering , which , by the way , is not necessarily illegal , but definitely many will say it's not very democratic.

S1:

S2: I think what we're hearing in Texas is that it might end up diluting the opportunity for minorities , specifically blacks and Latinos in Texas , to have a district where they could have representation.

S1: And ultimately , partisan gerrymandering. You know , it hasn't exactly been a popular practice among voters.

S2: Well , I think generally speaking , and it's it's interesting because I think if you ask a Republican , it'd beat against it. If you ask a Democrat , they'd be against it. But it depends on when when you ask them. Right now , the Republicans are against the Democrats in California who are attempting to gerrymander. And of course , if you ask them about what's going on in Texas , they'd probably not be against it. Of course , the Democrats are. So I think generally speaking , most people do not favor it. And I think it's important to understand that California is doing this in response to Texas , not because they want to , but because they believe they have to. Mhm.

S1: Mhm. I've heard it described as a situation where candidates pick their voters rather than voters picking their candidates. Is that.

S2: Accurate ? It's somewhat accurate. I mean , ultimately , the voters still need to turn out. And , you know , the person who's running still needs to appeal to the voters. Mhm.

S1: Mhm. Well , I mean , like we said , the state legislature has to approve this measure first here in California. But do we already have a sense of how voters might feel about Newsom's redistricting efforts.

S2: Overall. There's been a poll that was taken that people really do not want to have gerrymandering , and they'd prefer to have special citizens commissions draw the boundaries. I mean , it was supported already in in California by the voters. And another countermeasure was proposed which voters defeated. So there's a general sense that people are not in support of it. But having said that , I think it's going to be important on how this is how this is framed. Uh , you you pointed out the name of the particular proposition itself , I think , is really important part of the puzzle here to make people feel like , you know , their democracy is being stolen. Uh , I think there's a chance I think it's really a vote on whether or not they want to continue to see the president maintain power and control in both houses , or whether or not they'd like to see more checks and balances by permitting voters an opportunity to have at least one house of the two houses , uh , by the other party , the Democrats.

S1:

S2: I think they would rather have a neutral body do this. I think what's important to also point out is that they're very specific in saying that this is a temporary measure , and it'll only take place until the 2030 election , when the next census is done. So it's a it's important to see how the voters are going to be receptive to the arguments. You know , is it an indictment on the last ? You know , it'll be two years by the time of the next election. Uh , to preempt the Republicans from maintaining this kind of control. I think it's also an important test for Newsom. And whether or not he can convince voters of this very important decision. Mhm.

S1: Mhm.

S2: Whereas the state of California is doing it in response to what is going on in Texas. Uh , other states , you know , there's somewhere around ten states now who are contemplating doing the same thing. And had it probably not happen in Texas , I don't think we'd have this discussion. So that's kind of an important political context to keep in mind. Mhm.

S1: Mhm. Do you think that the fact that Californians will be voting on this versus I don't think Texas are having a vote on this.

S2: As far as control and power I think it's important. At least they're putting it before the voters. I mean , it's not much of a choice because they are required by the Constitution. Uh , but there are , you know , Texas is not doing that. And other states may not need to do that. Each state has within their own state constitution the provisions on whether or not they can or cannot do that without the public vote.

S1: So listen , political analysts say that Newsom is a prospective presidential candidate for 2028.

S2: I think he's already elevated his status by making the argument and going to the nation , and his status obviously has been elevated , is probably one of the most prominent potential candidates in the next presidential election. But I think if he loses , you could also say that this might hurt him as well.

S1: All right. Well , we will see how this pans out. I've been speaking with Phil Sines , political science professor at Southwestern College. Professor sines , thanks for your insight.

S2: It's my pleasure. Thank you very much.

S1: That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.