ALSO SEE: California Voters Will Decide Redistricting in November, Escalating Battle With Trump and Texas

California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, signed legislation on Thursday that will ask the state’s voters to decide in November if they approve of redrawn congressional districts that tilt heavily in favor of Democrats, as a way of neutralizing a similarly partisan map in Texas.

“They fired the first shot, Texas,” Newsom said before signing the bill, noting that California’s new map would only be used if Texas uses new maps tilted in favor of Republicans. “We wouldn’t be here had Texas not done what they just did; Donald Trump didn’t do what he just did. He went so far as to follow up and say that he didn’t just want those five seats, he said he’s, quote-unquote, entitled to those five seats. Just pause and reflect on that. Everything should have just stopped there. The president of the United States claiming he’s ‘entitled’ to five seats. That should put chills up your spine, every Republican, not just Democrat and independent, every American.”

Newsom also said that California would be “the first state in US history to, in the most democratic way, to submit to the people of our state the ability to determine their own maps”.

The map that could give California Democrats five more seats was drawn by Paul Mitchell, founder of Redistricting Partners, a nonpartisan local redistricting firm, who previously created maps for independent redistricting commissions across California.

“All of us support independent redistricting, here in California and in every state in this union” Mike McGuire, another Democratic state leader and senate president pro tempore, said. “One thing that we do not support is unilateral disarmament, when the fairness of the 2026 election is being threatened.”