This summer, at the request of President Donald Trump, Texas Governor Greg Abbott directed Texas lawmakers to create a new, permanent congressional district map. The new map plans to add five Republican seats to replace the five Democratic seats for the state of Texas in the House of Representatives.
Congress’ House of Representatives has 435 seats. Currently, there are 219 Republican-filled seats, 213 Democratic-filled seats, and three vacant seats. Governor Abbott has planned to redistrict Texas through passing the special session portion of House Bill 4. He signed the bill on Aug.29, 2025.
As the 2026 midterm elections approach, California will be voting on Proposition 50. California’s Governor Gavin Newsom has proposed to temporarily change California’s Congressional voting districts to even out the number of Democratic seats in the House. If Prop 50 passes, it will be put into act in contingent on Governor Abbott’s bill going into effect. These actions are commonly known as gerrymandering.
Gerrymandering can be defined as redrawing congressional districts for an advantage for a political party. Typically, these redrawn maps are decided by the state legislature.
Changes to congressional districts in each state do not typically occur mid-decade. The census is taken every ten years in the United States. If there is a major shift in a state’s population distribution after a census, then a committee in the state legislature will redraw their district maps. Some states, such as Florida, Alaska, New York, and North Carolina, have taken measures to prevent gerrymandering.
Newsom’s approach is different; in November, Californians will vote on Proposition 50, which will counter the Texas plan by authorizing these temporary changes to the district maps. The measure is being brought forward to try to secure and balance out seats for the Democratic Party. However, if this goes through, the maps will no longer be lawful in 2030, and California will return to redrawing congressional maps after censuses.
“I believe it should be even,” senior Race Fortney said. “California [wants] to have more [power in] the House of Representatives [and] I believe they should have that right. I do understand that Texas wants to get an upper edge.”
Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana are in the process of creating new congressional districts to add more voting districts with an African-American majority. Utah is in the process of redrawing its congressional districts, as they were ruled unlawful and gerrymandered.
“I can understand why Newsom and some other lawmakers want to [redistrict] in California, but I can also see some of the concerns people have about California becoming heavily gerrymandered,” senior Kourosh Sorkhabi said.
If Texas decides to redistrict while California citizens vote “no” on Proposition 50, the laws passed are likely to hold Republican values. Depending on how the situation progresses, the outcome can go either way. With Texas redistricting and California’s vote coming up, the other states potentially redrawing their maps as well could lead to an imbalance of party members in the House and an adjustment in the way that Congress signs laws.
