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Tag: California redistricting response

  • Judge rules Utah’s congressional map must be redrawn for the 2026 elections

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    The Utah Legislature will need to rapidly redraw the state’s congressional boundaries after a judge ruled Monday that the Republican-controlled body circumvented safeguards put in place by voters to ensure districts aren’t drawn to favor any party.Related video above — Get the Facts: Redistricting or Gerrymandering? The current map, drawn in 2021, divides Salt Lake County — the state’s population center and a Democratic stronghold — among the state’s four congressional districts, all of which have since elected Republicans by wide margins.District Court Judge Dianna Gibson made few judgments on the content of the map but declared it unlawful because lawmakers had weakened and ignored an independent commission established by voters to prevent partisan gerrymandering. The nature of the violation lies in “the Legislature’s refusal to respect the people’s exercise of their constitutional lawmaking power and to honor the people’s right to reform their government,” Gibson said in her ruling.New maps will need to be drawn quickly for the 2026 midterm elections. Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, the state’s top elections official, asked the courts for the case to be finalized by November to leave time for the process before candidates start filing in early January. But appeals promised by Republican lawmakers could help them run out the clock to possibly delay adopting new maps until 2028.The ruling creates uncertainty in a state that was thought to be a clean sweep for the GOP as the party is preparing to defend its slim majority in the U.S. House. Nationally, Democrats need to net three seats next year to take control of the chamber. The sitting president’s party tends to lose seats in the midterms, as was the case for President Donald Trump in 2018.Trump has urged several Republican-led states to add winnable seats for the GOP. In Texas, a plan awaiting Gov. Greg Abbott’s approval includes five new districts that would favor Republicans. Ohio Republicans already were scheduled to revise their maps to make them more partisan, and Indiana, Florida and Missouri may choose to make changes. Some Democrat-led states say they may enter the redistricting battle, but so far only California has taken action to offset GOP gains in Texas.

    The Utah Legislature will need to rapidly redraw the state’s congressional boundaries after a judge ruled Monday that the Republican-controlled body circumvented safeguards put in place by voters to ensure districts aren’t drawn to favor any party.

    Related video above — Get the Facts: Redistricting or Gerrymandering?

    The current map, drawn in 2021, divides Salt Lake County — the state’s population center and a Democratic stronghold — among the state’s four congressional districts, all of which have since elected Republicans by wide margins.

    District Court Judge Dianna Gibson made few judgments on the content of the map but declared it unlawful because lawmakers had weakened and ignored an independent commission established by voters to prevent partisan gerrymandering. The nature of the violation lies in “the Legislature’s refusal to respect the people’s exercise of their constitutional lawmaking power and to honor the people’s right to reform their government,” Gibson said in her ruling.

    New maps will need to be drawn quickly for the 2026 midterm elections. Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, the state’s top elections official, asked the courts for the case to be finalized by November to leave time for the process before candidates start filing in early January. But appeals promised by Republican lawmakers could help them run out the clock to possibly delay adopting new maps until 2028.

    The ruling creates uncertainty in a state that was thought to be a clean sweep for the GOP as the party is preparing to defend its slim majority in the U.S. House. Nationally, Democrats need to net three seats next year to take control of the chamber. The sitting president’s party tends to lose seats in the midterms, as was the case for President Donald Trump in 2018.

    Trump has urged several Republican-led states to add winnable seats for the GOP. In Texas, a plan awaiting Gov. Greg Abbott’s approval includes five new districts that would favor Republicans. Ohio Republicans already were scheduled to revise their maps to make them more partisan, and Indiana, Florida and Missouri may choose to make changes. Some Democrat-led states say they may enter the redistricting battle, but so far only California has taken action to offset GOP gains in Texas.

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  • Texas’ Republican-controlled House approves new maps to create more winnable GOP congressional seats

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    It’s been over 24 hours since Republican Texas House Speaker Dustin Burr said Democrats would be released into the custody of *** designated Department of Public Safety officer after Monday’s session. The doorkeeper will lock the doors, while other Democrats complied. State rep Nicole Collier refused. I am exercising my constitutional right to oppose. Instead. Settled in at her desk to spend the night. Collier posted on social media that she refused to sign away my dignity. I feel like this is wrong, that they are exercising this type of control over another person. It’s un-American. Texas House conservatives aim to put *** redistricting bill on the floor Wednesday after the redistricting committee voted to advance new congressional maps. GOP. Efforts to redraw maps would likely create 5 more GOP leaning seats ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. In order to secure the vote, Republicans need *** quorum of lawmakers, which Democrats had previously skipped out on by leaving the state. Their 15 day standoff ended Monday when they returned, and Democratic legislators in California agreed to consider employing similar. Districting maneuvers as Republicans have done in Texas. We didn’t ask for this fight. They brought this fight to us, and California cannot stand down if other states are attempting to cheat and rig the election in 20. On Tuesday, the California Senate committee voted 4 to 1 to advance *** bill that redraws that state’s congressional boundaries. I’m Sherelle Hubbard reporting.

    Texas Republicans on Wednesday took the first step toward approving new congressional maps that would give their party as many as five new seats in the House of Representatives, spurring what’s likely to be a national battle over redistricting.The approval by the Texas House of Representatives came at the urging of President Donald Trump, who pushed for the extraordinary mid-decade revision of congressional maps to give his party a better chance at holding onto the U.S. House of Representatives in next year’s election. The maps need to be approved by the state Senate and signed by Gov. Greg Abbott before they become official.Texas state legislative Democrats delayed the vote by two weeks by fleeing the state earlier this month in protest, and were assigned round-the-clock police monitoring upon their return to ensure they attended Wednesday’s session.The approval of the Texas maps is likely to prompt California’s Democratic-controlled state Legislature to approve a new House map creating Democratic-leaning districts. Unlike in Texas, the California map would require approval by voters in November before it becomes official.Democrats have also vowed to sue to challenge the new Texas map and complained that Republicans made the political power move before passing legislation responding to deadly floods that swept the state last month.

    Texas Republicans on Wednesday took the first step toward approving new congressional maps that would give their party as many as five new seats in the House of Representatives, spurring what’s likely to be a national battle over redistricting.

    The approval by the Texas House of Representatives came at the urging of President Donald Trump, who pushed for the extraordinary mid-decade revision of congressional maps to give his party a better chance at holding onto the U.S. House of Representatives in next year’s election. The maps need to be approved by the state Senate and signed by Gov. Greg Abbott before they become official.

    Texas state legislative Democrats delayed the vote by two weeks by fleeing the state earlier this month in protest, and were assigned round-the-clock police monitoring upon their return to ensure they attended Wednesday’s session.

    The approval of the Texas maps is likely to prompt California’s Democratic-controlled state Legislature to approve a new House map creating Democratic-leaning districts. Unlike in Texas, the California map would require approval by voters in November before it becomes official.

    Democrats have also vowed to sue to challenge the new Texas map and complained that Republicans made the political power move before passing legislation responding to deadly floods that swept the state last month.

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