Judge says California used racial gerrymandering to boost Democrats

“A federal choose criticized California’s voter-approved congressional map to redraw districts in favor of Democrats, calling it a case of ‘racial gerrymandering’ in a scathing opinion.

Decide Kenneth Lee famous that his considerations about race are a consider his dissent as a jury voted 2-1 to uphold the cardboard.

“California dirty its fingers with this sordid enterprise when it engaged in racist gerrymandering as a part of its congressional redistricting plan within the mid-Fifties so as to add one other 5 Democratic Home seats,” Lee wrote.

“We all know that race seemingly performed a predominant position within the drawing of at the very least one district as a result of the smoking gun is within the fingers of Paul Mitchell, the mapmaker who drew the Congressional redistricting map adopted by the California state legislature,” he added.

DOJ ACCUSES DEMOCRATIC CAMPAIGN ARM OF OBSTRUCTION IN JURISDICTION OVER CALIFORNIA REDISTRIBUTION

California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks throughout an election evening press convention on Tuesday, November 4, 2025, at a California Democratic Celebration workplace in Sacramento, California. (Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP Picture)

The court docket rejected a declare by Republicans that the map handed as a part of Proposition 50 violated the Voting Rights Act by drawing maps in favor of Hispanic and Latino voters.

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The choice permits California to make use of the map, which may give Democrats extra seats within the Home of Representatives. The Republican Celebration of California mentioned it would ask the U.S. Supreme Court docket to difficulty an emergency injunction.

“The well-reasoned dissent higher displays our interpretation of the legislation and the details, which we are going to argue once more earlier than the Supreme Court docket,” Corrin Rankin, chairman of the California Republican Celebration, mentioned in a press release. “The mapmaker’s clear statements acknowledging that he had racially manipulated the Proposition 50 maps, which he and the Legislature refused to elucidate or deny, along with the testimony of our consultants, established that the courts ought to halt the implementation of the Prop 50 map. We look ahead to persevering with this battle within the courts.”

REPUBLICANS PUSH BACK AGAINST ‘FALSE ACCUSATIONS OF RACISM’ IN BLOCKBUSTER’S REDISTRIBUTION FIGHT

California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks throughout a “Sure On Prop 50” volunteer occasion on the LA Conference Heart in Los Angeles. (Getty Pictures)

Lee famous that mapmaker Paul Mitchell declined to look earlier than the panel, however reportedly publicly bragged to his political allies that he drew the map to “make sure that Latino districts.”

“In embarking on a mid-decade redistricting plan to create extra Democratic-friendly districts, California relied on race to create at the very least one Latino-majority congressional district,” he wrote. “To be clear, as the bulk explains, California started its redistricting effort mid-cycle after Texas initiated its personal redistricting in favor of Republicans. However that bigger partisan objective doesn’t deny that California’s Democratic state legislature sought to keep up and develop a racial spoils system.”

Prop 50 was the results of California Governor Gavin Newsom and different Democratic leaders asking voters whether or not the state ought to redraw the boundaries of Congress by focusing on 5 Republican strongholds.

The transfer was a countermeasure to Texas’ efforts to ship extra Republicans to the Home of Representatives.

“Republicans’ feeble try to silence voters failed,” Newsom mentioned in a press release. “California voters overwhelmingly supported Prop 50 – in response to Trump’s manipulation in Texas – and that’s precisely what this court docket concluded.”

Texas Governor Greg Abbott additionally launched a redistricting drive in his state. (Antranik Tavitian/Reuters)

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Home playing cards are usually redrawn each ten years after the census, and the method hardly ever happens mid-decade.

Fox Information Digital’s Michael Sinkewicz contributed to this report.