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Redistricting in California ahead of the 2026 elections
California conducted mid-decade U.S. House redistricting in response to redistricting efforts in Texas. Click here to read more about the ongoing redistricting effort in California and other states.
Redistricting is the process of enacting new district boundaries for elected offices, particularly for offices in the U.S. House of Representatives and state legislatures. This article covers redistricting activity in California after the 2024 elections and before the 2026 elections.
California's 52 United States representatives and 120 state legislators are all elected from political divisions called districts. District lines are redrawn every 10 years following completion of the United States census. Federal law stipulates that districts must have nearly equal populations and must not discriminate on the basis of race or ethnicity.
Congressional districts
Map drafting in California ahead of the 2026 elections has concluded.
Voters approved California Proposition 50 on November 4, 2025, authorizing the state to use a new congressional map from Assembly Bill 604 (AB 604) for the 2026 elections.[1] After Texas Republicans launched their mid-decade congressional redistricting effort, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) posted on X on July 15, 2025, "two can play that game."[2] On August 21, 2025, the California Legislature passed a redistricting plan setting a special election for a constitutional amendment to redraw the state's congressional district boundaries through 2030.[3] Heading into the redistricting effort, Democrats represented 43 of California's 52 Congressional districts, and Republicans represented nine.
Click here for more information about the congressional maps enacted in California after the 2020 census.
For a complete overview of redistricting in California after the 2020 census, click here.
Summary
This section lists major events in the post-2020 census redistricting cycle in reverse chronological order. Major events include the release of apportionment data, the release of census population data, the introduction of formal map proposals, the enactment of new maps, and noteworthy court challenges. Click the dates below for additional information.
- November 4, 2025
Voters approved California Proposition 50 by a 65%-35% vote, allowing a new map that would make five seats more favorable to Democrats to be used in the 2026 elections.[1]
Redistricting proposal ahead of the 2026 elections
After Texas Republicans launched their congressional redistricting effort, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) tweeted on July 15, 2025, "two can play that game."[2] In August 2025, California began taking official action toward congressional redistricting ahead of the 2026 elections. Redistricting in California required the passage of a constitutional amendment in a November special election to permit the adoption of a replacement map through 2030. On August 21, 2025, the California Legislature passed a redistricting plan setting a special election for a constitutional amendment to redraw the state's congressional district boundaries. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed the two bills and scheduled a Nov. 4, 2025, special election.[9] Voters approved the proposition by a 65%-35% vote, allowing the map that would make five districts more favorable to Democrats to take effect.[1]
National overview
As of December 2025, five states had congressional district maps that were subject to change before the 2026 elections, and six states—California, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, and Utah—had new congressional maps. Three states were reportedly exploring voluntary redistricting, and two states had congressional maps that were subject to change due to litigation. Before 2025, only two states had conducted voluntary mid-decade redistricting since 1970.[10]
The map below shows redistricting activity between the 2024 and 2026 elections.
The table below shows redistricting activity between the 2024 and 2026 elections as well as the pre-redistricting U.S. House delegation in each state.
| State | Reason for redistricting | Status | Method of redistricting | U.S. House delegation before redistricting | Potential result of new maps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New map enacted | |||||
| California | Voluntary redistricting | Voters approved the use of a new map on Nov. 4, 2025. | Commission | 43 D - 9 R | +5 D |
| Missouri | Voluntary redistricting | Gov. Mike Kehoe (R) signed new map into law on Sept. 28, 2025. | Legislature-dominant | 6 R - 2 D | +1 R |
| North Carolina | Voluntary redistricting | Legislature passed new map into law on Oct. 22, 2025 | Legislature-dominant | 10 R - 4 D | +1 R |
| Ohio | Required by law to redistrict | Redistricting commission approved a new map on Oct. 31, 2025 | Legislature-dominant | 10 R -5 D | +2 R |
| Texas | Voluntary redistricting | U.S. Supreme Court ruled the new Texas map could be used in 2026 | Legislature-dominant | 25 R -12 D with 1 vacancy | +5 R |
| Utah | Changed due to litigation | Court approved new plaintiff-submitted map | Legislature-dominant | 4 R - 0 D | +1 D |
| Net | +3 R | ||||
| New map possible | |||||
| Florida | Voluntary redistricting | Florida House to form Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting | Legislature-dominant | 20 R - 8 D | - |
| Georgia | Subject to change due to litigation | Litigation ongoing | Legislature-dominant | 9 R - 5 D | - |
| Louisiana | Subject to change due to litigation | Litigation ongoing | Legislature-dominant | 4 R - 2 D | - |
| Maryland | Voluntary redistricting | Gov. Wes Moore (D) announced a redistricting advisory commission. | Legislature-dominant | 7 D - 1 R | - |
| Virginia | Voluntary redistricting | The Virginia General Assembly completed its first of two required rounds of approval for a constitutional amendment. | Hybrid | 6 D - 5 R | - |
Enacted maps
Enacted congressional district maps
After the 2020 census, the California Citizens Redistricting Commission voted 14-0 in favor of a new congressional district map on December 20, 2021, and delivered those maps to the secretary of state on December 27, 2021.[11][12] California was apportioned 52 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives after the 2020 census, a net loss of one seat compared to apportionment after the 2010 census. This map took effect for California's 2022 congressional elections.
Enacted state legislative district maps
The California Citizens Redistricting Commission voted 14-0 in favor of a new state Assembly and Senate district maps on December 20, 2021, and delivered those maps to the secretary of state on December 27, 2021.[11][12] These maps took effect for California's 2022 state legislative elections.
Court challenges
As of 2025, Ballotpedia had not tracked any lawsuits challenging enacted maps in this state. For more information about redistricting lawsuits in California, click here.
See also
- Redistricting in California after the 2020 census
- Redistricting in California after the 2010 census
- Redistricting in California
- State-by-state redistricting procedures
- Majority-minority districts
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- All About Redistricting
- Dave's Redistricting
- FiveThirtyEight, "What Redistricting Looks Like In Every State"
- National Conference of State Legislatures, "Redistricting Process"
- FairVote, "Redistricting"
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Associated Press, "California voters approve new US House map to boost Democrats in 2026," November 4, 2025
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 X, "Gavin Newsom on July 15, 2025," accessed July 29, 2025
- ↑ New York Times, "California Democrats Pass Redistricting Plan to Counter Texas Republicans," August 21, 2025
- ↑ New York Times, "California Democrats Pass Redistricting Plan to Counter Texas Republicans," August 21, 2025
- ↑ CNN, "California Democrats prepare to pass their redistricting plan after Texas House approves new maps," August 21, 2025
- ↑ NPR, "California Democrats unveil their new congressional map to counter Republicans," August 15, 2025
- ↑ New York Times, "Newsom’s Latest Statewide Campaign Is About Redistricting. And Donald Trump.," August 14, 2025
- ↑ YouTube, "Governor Newsom, California leaders host Texas Democrats breaking quorum to fight GOP map-rigging," August 8, 2025
- ↑ New York Times, "California Democrats Pass Redistricting Plan to Counter Texas Republicans," August 21, 2025
- ↑ Pew Research Center, "Redistricting between censuses has been rare in the modern era," August 28, 2025
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Politico, "California’s new congressional map boosts Democrats," Dec. 21, 2021
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Lake County News, "California Citizens Redistricting Commission delivers maps to California Secretary of State," Dec. 28, 2021
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