California voters express strong preference for maintaining the state’s independent redistricting commission over Governor Gavin Newsom’s (D) proposal to reshape congressional districts in favor of Democrats. The current system, which relies on an impartial panel to draw district boundaries, remains favored by a significant portion of the electorate.
Newsom recently revealed plans to hold a special election to implement a new partisan map, crafted by the Democrat-majority legislature, which would reduce Republican representation by eliminating at least four of the nine seats currently held by Republicans in California.
A survey conducted by the Citrin Center and Possibility Lab at UC Berkeley, in collaboration with Politico, polled 1,445 registered California voters and found that 64% support retaining the existing independent system, while only 36% endorse Newsom’s redistricting proposal.
According to Politico:
The POLITICO-Citrin Center-Possibility Lab survey indicates that voters, by nearly a two-to-one margin, favor preserving the independent panel responsible for determining the state’s congressional boundaries. Only 36 percent of those surveyed support transferring redistricting authority to state legislators.
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California Democrats have assured voters that they will not completely dismantle the state’s independent redistricting commission. Instead, their strategy involves proposing a constitutional amendment, which would allow legislature-approved maps to take effect for the 2026, 2028, and 2030 election cycles, according to sources familiar with the legislative draft. The independent commission would then regain its authority to draw district lines following the 2030 census.
