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Len’s Letter #82 California’s Ballot Measure
Support Governor Newsom’s Election Rigging Response Act DONATE
Gavin Newsom. Greg Abbott
California. Texas
Governor. Governor
You probably know this. Urged on by President Donald J. Trump, the Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott in turn encouraged the Texas legislature to redistrict before the 2026 elections.
Trump fears the 2026 mid-term elections would follow the ordinary pattern of Mid-terms. The President’s party loses seats. Sometimes a few. Sometimes a lot of seats. Since the Republican majority in the House of Representatives is currently only Members, Democrats would not have to flip a lot of seats to take control of the House.
Trump has something to fear beyond not getting his legislation through if Democrats control the House. A Democratic House might investigate. They might find that Trump has acted illegally – whether in eliminating USAID or cutting staff in the Department of Education or in numerous other matters. They might find that Trump had his name redacted from the Epstein files. They might even find impeachable behavior.
In response to the President and their Governor, the Texas legislature has redistricted. Currently, there are 25 Republican Members of Congress from Texas, 12 Democratic Members of Congress, and one overwhelmingly Democratic seat that Governor Abbott left vacant since Congressman Sylvester Turner’s death in March, 2025. The seat will be filled by a Democrat in November, 2025.
The goal of the Texas redistricting is to change the composition of the Texas delegation so that there are 30 Republicans and 8 Democrats representing Texas. They would change the Republican percentage of the Texas delegation from 66% to 79%.
It is possible that the members of the Texas legislature do not know their state as well as they should. They probably can be confident that the new Texas 09 District, the new Texas 32 district, and the new Texas 35 districts will not return Democrats like the incumbents Al Green, Julie Johnson, and Greg Casar. I am not so sure that Texas 28’s Henry Cuellar and Texas 34’s Vicente Gonzalez will lose their seats in 2026. If Texas Republicans are mistaken when they presume that Texas Hispanics will continue their movement toward the Republican Party, TX 38 and TX 34, might not flip to the Republicans..
During the few months of the Trump administration’s first year, Democrats have been frantic looking for ways to combat Donald Trump’s relentless violation of norms and constitutional principles. They have had little or no help from supine Republicans in the House or the Senate, even when Trump violates principles that Republicans hold dear – ranging from opposing Russian encroachment on the West to support for a free market economy. The Supreme Court, meanwhile, appears to have discovered a new constitutional principal: Donald Trump is OK no matter what he does.
Enter California Governor Gavin Newsom.
Gavin Newsom proposed that California offset the five Democratic seats Texas proposed to flip through redistricting with five Republican seats California could flip through redistricting. California is larger than Texas. It may be more Democratic than Texas is Republican. Of California’s 52 Congressional seats, 43 are Democratic. If California can flip 5 more seats, they would have 48 Democratic seats to the Republicans 4. California would increase its percentage of Democratic seats from 83% to 92%.
Changing district lines in Texas was easy. The legislature has the authority to make the change. Democrats did what they could to stop the Republicans by using Texas’s quorum rule. No legislative business can get done unless 75% of the legislators in each house are present. Enough Democratic Texas legislators left the state putting themselves beyond the reach of Texas law enforcement. They lasted long enough to block action during a special session of the legislature and to bring national attention to Texas’s super-gerrymandering.
The Texas Governor had a simple solution. Call another special session. Texas passed rules fining the self-exiled legislators $500 per absent day. Because Texas pays legislators only $7,200 per year (plus a per diem figure each day the legislature is in session), the self-exiled Texas legislators were losing pay from their private sector work.
The Texas legislators announced they would return for a second special session when the California redistricting plan was published.
Governor Gavin Newsom has more to do than announce a plan. California’s constitution ensures that Congressional Districts are created by a non-partisan commission seeking to distribute seats fairly. Newsom proposes revised district lines to be in effect for 2026, 2028, and 2030. To achieve that goal, he needs a constitutional amendment. For 2032, the independent commission would draft district lines based on the 2030 census. The amendment would go into affect only if Texas completes the process of revising its district lines.
In California, a constitutional amendment has to pass the legislature by two third votes in the Assembly and the Senate. Newsom’s proposal needed 54 votes in the Assembly. It got 57. The proposed amendment needed 27 votes in the Senate. It got 30. But it is still not done.
The people of California have to approve a proposed Constitutional Amendment. To adopt the amendment, Proposition 50 will be voted on by the people of California in a special election on November 4, 2025. Passage requires a majority of the voters to approve.
Governor Newsom has called Proposition 50 the Election Rigging Response Act. The Ballot Measure Committee PAC, supported by the Governor, will lead the campaign. You can help. DONATE. Fight back against the Texas tricksters who have been unleashed by Donald J. Trump and Texas Governor Greg Abbott. Support Governor Newsom’s Election Rigging Response Act.
Texas and California are able to do what they have done because both states have trifectas. The same party has control over the state’s House of Representatives, the state’s Senate, and the Governorship.
Donald Trump went looking for other states with Trifectas that he could persuade to redistrict now to get him past what is likely to be a Texas – California stalemate.
He identified Missouri, Indiana, Florida, and Ohio.
Missouri has 8 members of Congress, 6 Republicans and 2 Democrats. The legislature may prove to be willing to redistrict to make it 7 Republicans and 1 Democrat.
The Indiana governor and Republican state legislators have been less encouraging to him. Trump has had to resort to threatening state legislators with primaries if they do not cooperate.
Like Missouri, the Indiana state legislature does the redistricting. Indiana has 9 Members of Congress. There are 7 Republicans and 2 Democrats. If Trump can bully them into acting, they would probably redistrict to make it 8 Republicans and 1 Democrat.
Democrats might respond to Indiana and Missouri. Illinois, a Democratic trifecta, is situated in between Indiana and Missouri. The state has 17 members of Congress. Fourteen are Democrats, three are Republicans. The state legislature is responsible for redistricting, but there are practical limits to what it can do. Illinois could get the numbers to 15 – 2 in favor of Democrats.
Maryland is another Democratic state with a trifecta. The state has 8 members of Congress. Seven of them are Democrats. State leaders have indicated they would consider acting to eliminate the Republican district if Texas acted on its plan to redistrict. Maryland and Illinois could offset changes by Missouri and Indiana.
Florida and Ohio are large states that have been under Republican trifectas for a while. Florida has 28 Members of the House of Representatives. Twenty are Republicans and eight are Democrats. The New York Times suggests Florida could redistrict and flip 2 Democratic seats creating a 22-6 breakdown in favor of the Republicans.
Ohio is complicated. According to its own laws, if neither the General Assembly nor the state redistricting commission adopts a plan without a vote from the minority party, the initial redistricting after the census is only for four years. The same obligation – first a plan by the legislature, then by the redistricting commission if the legislature’s plan has no minority support – is required for the remaining six years. According to statute, the final plan may not be a gerrymander. The Ohio Supreme Court, now with only one Democrat, might have a permissive definition of gerrymander. If that proves to be the case, Ohio could flip two seats from Democrat to Republican.
Can New York redistrict? Can it redistrict enough to offset Florida and Ohio? The New York Times reports and most New York political experts say that mid-decade redistricting requires a constitutional amendment. In New York, state constitutional amendments require passing the legislature in two consecutive legislative sessions and then be approved by a referendum. This cannot get done in time for the 2026 congressional election, but, perhaps, in time for 2028.
I may be the only person who does not agree – though New York’s Governor Kathy Hochul is truly eager to redistrict and “dish” the Republicans. New York’s constitution requires the state’s independent redistricting committee to make recommendations to the legislature and allows the legislature to act. Who is to say that the legislature could not review those recommendations for a second time and come up with different district lines from those that were selected earlier in the decade? Let’s see if New York’s Governor Kathy Hochul can match California’s Gavin Newsom and find a way for the legislature to act before the 2026 elections.
If the Governor can find a way for the New York legislature to proceed, this is what they will deal with. New York has 26 Congressional Districts. 19 are Democrats, 7 are Republicans. Can New York flip four seats, making New York 23 Democrats and 3 Republicans. It is possible. There were people drawing up 23-3 districting plans before 2022. If New York recreates its districts so that it is likely that four districts would flip from Republican to Democrat, then it could offset Florida and Ohio.
Trump’s initiative that began by pressing Texas to redistrict could wind up having caused disruptions in several states without making it any more likely that the Republicans will retain a majority in the US House of Representatives.
You can be a part of the resistance to Trump’s initiative. DONATE. Support Governor Gavin Newsom’s Election Rigging Response Act. Californians will be voting on this constitutional amendment in November, 2025.
Other important November, 2025 votes
Mikie Sherill
New Jersey Governor
Keep New Jersey Blue. Recent polls have shown Congresswoman Mikie Sherill leading the Republican nominee Jack Ciatarelli: 45-37 in a recent poll and 48-42 in the most recent poll. Keep Mikie Sherill in the lead; help her win this election. DONATE. See Len’s Political Note #732
Abigail Spanberger
Virginia Governor
Make Virginia Blue. A July poll found former Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger leading the Republican nominee Lt. Governor Winsome Earl-Sears by a 49-37 margin. Twelve points is substantial. Furthermore, Abigail Spanberger has a similar funding raising lead, having raised $27 million for this race compared to her opponent’s less than $12 million. Abigail Spanberger is still raising money. It is important, but not as urgent as New Jersey. DONATE See Len’s Political note #705
Support the Virginia down ballot candidates as well: Lt. Governor candidate State Senator Ghazala Hashmi DONATE. In Virginia, the Lt. Governor is elected separately. See Len’s Political Note #735
Also support former Delegate Jay Jones for Attorney General DONATE. He is running behind the incumbent Republican in the financial race. See Len’s Political Note #734.
Zohran Mamdani
New York City Mayor
With a total population in between New Jersey’s and Virginia’s who governs New York City matters. Despite an onslaught of attacks on his Democratic socialism and his critical views of Israel, Zohran Mamdani earned the Democratic nomination and is leading in the polls for the November election. He is facing the considerable resources of his opponents. Born in Uganda, son of an internationally known scholar and an internationally known film producer, he is a graduate of Bronx High School of Science, Bowdoin College. He has proposed reducing the high cost of living in New York City by eliminating fees for buses, freezing rent, and developing no-cost child care. DONATE See Len’s Political Note #739.
Pennsylvania State Supreme Court
Three of Pennsylvania’s seven Supreme Court Justices are up for Retention Elections in November. In a Retention Election, common in many states for previously elected justices when their term is up, the voters indicate yes or no on whether the Justice should be retained in his or her seat. See Len’s Political Note #See Len’s Political Note #710
In less partisan times, voters supported retention of judges overwhelmingly. Not so much anymore. Not necessarily in Pennsylvania. National Republicans and Pennsylvania Republicans, in a joint effort to eliminate the 5-2 Democratic majority on Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court, have organized an effort to oust the three Democratic Supreme Court Justices subject to retention election this November. Statewide votes to retain each of these Justices would keep the 5-2 Democratic majority on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court
Christine Donahue came out of the union culture in and around Scranton. BA East Stroudsburg, JD Duquesne. DONATE
Kevin Dougherty was from South Philadelphia. BA Temple, JD Antioch DONATE
David Wecht was originally from Baltimore, but his grandfather ran a grocery store in Pittsburgh, an area he grew to love. BA, JD Yale. DONATE
Nebraska’s Douglas County Attorney
Nebraska’s Douglas County Attorney. Prosecutor Amy Jacobsen to defeat the Incumbent Republican Don Kleine who has frequently been involved in ethical disputes. DONATE to Amy Jacobsen’s campaign. See Len’s Political Note #748
