California Supreme Court rejects GOP's attempt to prevent redistricting

The California state Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a Republican lawsuit that attempted to prevent Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Democrats from moving forward on their plan to redraw congressional districts next year.

A group of four Republican state lawmakers filed the lawsuit on Tuesday in hopes of blocking the state legislature from holding a vote on advancing the redistricting push by the end of the week. The California effort comes as the Texas House advanced its new congressional map in a party-line vote on Wednesday.

The state Supreme Court ruled that the four Republicans failed to provide enough evidence to warrant court intervention.

“Petitioners have failed to meet their burden of establishing a basis for relief at this time under California Constitution article IV, section 8,” the court wrote in a brief order, according to The Hill. 

The four Republicans had argued that the redistricting vote should be subject to the 30-day waiting period that the state constitution mandates before an introduced bill can be passed. But the state constitution allows the legislature to circumvent the waiting period if three-fourths of lawmakers agree to waive the requirement. 

The group slammed the ruling in a joint statement and promised to continue fighting against the redistricting effort.

“We will continue to challenge this unconstitutional power grab in the courts and at the ballot box. Californians deserve fair, transparent elections, not secret backroom deals to protect politicians,” the state lawmakers said.

California state Democrats are now expected to vote on redistricting as early as Thursday, which would pave the way for a special election on the redistricting effort in November, where California voters would be able to weigh in on the new maps.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.