Another GOP Lawsuit Over California’s Redistricting Ballot Initiative

Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton sued California Thursday, arguing that a ballot measure advanced by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and Democratic lawmakers to counteract GOP gerrymanders nationwide violates state and federal law. 

The November ballot measure — Proposition 50 — would temporarily suspend California’s independent redistricting commission and install a new congressional map drawn by the legislature. If approved, the change could give Democrats as many as five new U.S. House seats and help blunt Republican gerrymanders in Texas and other states.

“The hyper-partisan gerrymandering project undertaken by the governor and legislature, as alleged herein, is an example of government officials acting under color of state law to deprive Plaintiff of rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the U.S. Constitution,” the complaint argues. “Courts are empowered to resolve claims of inequality in Congressional districts.”

Hilton, who is a former Fox News host, claims that California’s plan denies equal protection under the U.S. Constitution and federal civil rights law under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a law more often used in cases of police misconduct and state officials violating civil liberties, not redistricting disputes.

The alleged denial of equal protection Hilton claims is not based on race, but on population size.

“Because the legislature did not use, or did not have, current census data, it has not ensured that districts are largely equal in population,” the complaint adds. “The Equal Protection Clause requires substantially equal legislative representation for all citizens in a State regardless of where they reside.”

Hilton asked the court to block Proposition 50 from appearing on the November ballot and to permanently ban California from using the proposed maps if approved. 

Proposition 50 is designed as a counterweight to extreme GOP gerrymanders in Texas and other Republican-controlled states, like Missouri. Pro-voting groups agree that without this measure, Democrats nationwide face structural disadvantages that could lock in Republican control of the U.S. House for the rest of the decade.

In recent weeks, two other GOP lawsuits against the redistricting measure have been rejected by the California Supreme Court.