“GERRYMANGERING”: California plans to vote on constituency reform

In response to an impending vote on new constituencies in Texas, California is now also putting their own districts to the test. The Democratic governor of the state on the west coast, Gavin Newsom, announced a special election for November 4th – on the day the Californians are to decide on the constituency reform. “We cannot stand by and see how this democracy disappears, district for district across the country, not only in Texas,” said Newsom at a rally.

This was preceded by a push of the Republicans in the parliament of the US state of Texas: they want to reorganize the constituencies in their favor and hope to expand their majority in the national parliamentary chamber in the congress elections in November 2026. The Democrats then left Texas in protest and have so far prevented the necessary quorum for the vote.

The background to the political power struggle is the balance of power in the US Congress, the National Parliament of the United States. The congress consists of two chambers: House of Representatives and the Senate. The Republicans currently have a short majority in both chambers. In Texas, the Republicans are now striving to re -cut several constituencies. This could shift the balance of power at the national level. The Republicans hope to lift the Democrat up to five more seats through the new constituency boundaries.

The Democrats in California now want to keep against it with a constituency reform in their own state.

As every two years, the congress elections take place in November 2026. Then there are all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and around a third of the 100 Senate seats. Texas is currently presenting 25 Republican and 12 Democratic MPs in the US House of Representatives. Another seat in a democratically dominated constituency is vacant due to a death and is already filled this November. California, however, send nine republican and 43 democratic MPs.

Each of the 435 MPs in the US House of Representatives represents their own constituency (Congressional District). According to legislation, the circles should have almost the same number of residents. The basis for this is actually the census that takes place every ten years, which serves as the basis for determining the constituencies.

The targeted pull of constituency boundaries is called “gerrymandering” in the USA. Both parties use this tactic to systematically gain advantages in elections; Recently, however, Republican -run states played a central role.