California voters overwhelmingly support an independent redistricting commission Gov. Gavin Newsom is attempting to bypass to further gerrymander the state in Democrats’ favor, new polling shows.
Released Thursday by Politico, the survey conducted by the outlet, Citrin Center, and Possibility Lab shows that, “By nearly a two-to-one margin, [Golden State] voters prefer keeping an independent line-drawing panel to determine the state’s House seats.”
A whopping 64 percent of those surveyed expressed support for keeping the commission, including 66 percent of Republicans, 61 percent of Democrats, and 72 percent of independents. Just 36 percent of voters espoused support for “returning congressional redistricting authority to state legislators.”
The polling figures don’t bode well for Newsom, who, along with Democrat legislators, is gearing up to potentially bypass the commission to ram through a new congressional map more favorable to Democrats. As The Federalist previously reported, “The prospective move is aimed at helping his party offset any potential GOP gains resulting from Texas and other red states’ redistricting efforts.”
“[Republicans have] triggered this response. And we’re not going to roll over and we’re going to fight fire with fire, but we’re going to do so not just punching with the weight of the fourth largest economy, the most populous state in our union, the size of 21 state populations combined,” Newsom said earlier this month.
(Democrats currently hold 43 of the state’s congressional seats, while Republicans hold nine.)
The aforementioned restricting commission was adopted by Californians via two constitutional amendment proposals in 2008 and 2010. A competing 2010 amendment attempting to repeal the commission was overwhelmingly rejected by voters, with nearly 60 percent voting in opposition, as The Federalist previously reported.
In order to usurp the commission’s redistricting authority, Newsom and his allies have suggested potentially having the Democrat-controlled legislature pass a legislatively referred constitutional amendment that would go before voters later this fall. That proposal, according to CalMatters, “would temporarily set aside California’s independent redistricting commission and bring an alternative map” — one more favorable to Democrats — “directly to the public for approval.”
The state would then revert back to the independent commission for future redistricting under the suggested proposal, Newsom claimed.
The California governor is expected to reveal further details about his administration’s plan on Thursday, according to CBS News.
For more election news and updates, visit electionbriefing.com.
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
