New York [US], August 16: Two US states, California and Texas, are racing to rearrange their electoral maps with the goal of gaining control of the US House of Representatives in next year's midterm elections.
Yesterday (Vietnam time), at a rally in Los Angeles (California), California Governor Gavin Newsom announced an initiative to remap the state's electoral districts. This move was made after Texas initiated a similar plan a month ago with the support of US President Donald Trump .
California's Counterattack
At the rally, in the presence of state legislative leaders and labor unions, Governor Newsom promoted a plan to change California's new electoral map, according to AFP. The action plan, called the "Election Fraud Response Act," would pave the way for California Democrats to bypass the independent commission, which is responsible for drawing electoral maps, to move forward with approving new maps that are more favorable to the party in the 2026 midterm elections.
Under the plan, a special vote will take place on November 4, in which voters in the most populous state in the US will decide whether to allow state lawmakers to redraw electoral districts. There is no information yet on the proposed new map, but Newsom said things will become clearer in the next few days, according to NBC News. Politico, citing sources familiar with the matter, revealed that if the new map is applied, Republicans could lose about six seats in the state House.
Governor Newsom called this an urgent measure to deal with the plan being implemented by the state of Texas at the request of President Trump to help the Republican Party maintain its majority in the federal House of Representatives. "What we are doing is in response to the US President asking the current governor of Texas to 'find me five more seats,'" AFP quoted Mr. Newsom as saying.
Risk of widespread retaliation
Last month, after a public call from President Trump, Texas Governor Greg Abbott called a special session of the Republican-controlled Texas legislature to discuss redistricting that would strengthen the Republican Party's position and allow it to maintain its narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives after 2026.
The move is unusual because the electoral map is redrawn every 10 years and is based on the results of the national census to ensure it accurately reflects the population. The last time Texas redrawn its electoral map was about four years ago.
California's plan marks the latest escalation in a nationwide back-and-forth between Republican- and Democratic-led states. The New York Times has warned that Missouri, Indiana and Ohio could seek to redistrict to help Republicans, and Governor Newsom has encouraged Democratic-led states to follow California's lead and respond.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
