Partisan proposal would sideline independent commission and target GOP-held districts.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A leaked draft map reveals that California Democrats are preparing to sidestep the state’s voter-approved independent redistricting process, instead drawing their own congressional boundaries in a move critics say is designed to erase Republican representation.
The draft, obtained by California Courier, was created by Democratic lawmakers and their consultants, bypassing the citizen-led commission established by ballot initiatives in 2008 and 2010 to prevent exactly this kind of political manipulation. Three sources close to the process confirm that internal disputes among Democrats have already delayed the map’s official release.
The proposed changes specifically target five Republican-held districts: Doug LaMalfa’s District 1, Kevin Kiley’s District 3, David Valadao’s District 22, Ken Calvert’s District 41, and Darrell Issa’s District 48. In the leaked version, LaMalfa’s inland rural district would be redrawn to absorb heavily Democratic coastal areas, while Kiley’s district would shed Republican-leaning Eastern Sierra territory in exchange for Democratic-stronghold neighborhoods in Sacramento County.
The plan briefly appeared on redistrictingpartners.com, a site run by Democratic strategist Paul Mitchell, before being quickly removed.
The act of intentionally reshaping district lines to favor one party — gerrymandering — has long been criticized as undemocratic. Yet, instead of allowing the independent commission to manage the process as voters intended, Democratic lawmakers appear ready to take control themselves, crafting a map that could influence elections for years.
If pushed through by August 22, the proposal would go before voters in a November 4 special election and could govern congressional elections in 2026, 2028, and 2030. Opponents say it represents a direct assault on the reforms Californians overwhelmingly approved to keep politicians from choosing their own voters.
