California voters will decide in November whether to approve a new congressional map that could give Democrats five additional U.S. House seats, according to The Associated Press (AP). The plan was advanced after Texas Republicans pushed through their own redrawn map that boosts their majority by the same margin.

State lawmakers approved the California measure largely along party lines on Thursday, and Gov. Gavin Newsom signed it shortly afterward. The move highlights the escalating political standoff over redistricting that is unfolding across the country.

“This is not something six weeks ago that I ever imagined that I’d be doing,” Newsom said at a press conference. He pledged to campaign for the measure across party lines, calling it, “A reaction to an assault on our democracy in Texas.” 

Former President Barack Obama supports this move. 

“I believe that Governor Newsom’s approach is a responsible approach,” he said, according to Politico. “I think that approach is a smart, measured approach, designed to address a very particular problem in a very particular moment in time.”

Republicans have already filed a lawsuit and requested a federal investigation. California Assemblyman James Gallagher, the Republican minority leader, said Newsom’s move was misguided and warned of legal and political challenges ahead.

If voters approve the map, it could reshape California’s congressional delegation in 2026 and tilt control of the U.S. House of Representatives.  

As BET previously reported, Texas Democrats and Republicans have been battling across the aisle over the redistricting plan. 

Democrats attempted to block a Republican-led redistricting push by denying the state House the quorum—the number of members required to conduct legislative business—to move forward. After dozens of lawmakers left the state, GOP leaders issued civil arrest warrants and enlisted state troopers to track them down, according to multiple outlets including CNN. 

“If you continue to go down this road, there will be consequences,” said House Speaker Rep. Dustin Burrows, who also told reporters that consequences “include fines.”

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul also weighed in: “We’re not going to tolerate our democracy being stolen in a modern-day stagecoach heist by a bunch of law-breaking cowboys. If Republicans are willing to rewrite rules to give themselves an advantage, then they’re leaving us with no choice: we must do the same. You have to fight fire with fire.”