California Democrats are playing with fire, and they know it. After years of lecturing the rest of the nation about democracy, transparency, and fairness, Governor Gavin Newsom and his allies in Sacramento are now trying to bulldoze their own state’s constitution in order to seize back control of redistricting from the independent Citizens Redistricting Commission.
The power grab is blatant. On August 14, Newsom announced his intention to push through a constitutional amendment allowing the legislature to redraw California’s congressional districts. Four days later, a legislative package spanning hundreds of pages was rammed through—no hearings, no debate, no public input.
By August 18, the bills were in play. Never mind that the state constitution requires 30 days’ notice for new legislation. Never mind that the people of California deliberately stripped redistricting power from politicians over a decade ago and placed it in the hands of an independent commission to prevent partisan gerrymandering.
Enter the Dhillon Law Group, which on Monday filed a petition with the California Supreme Court on behalf of citizens and Republican lawmakers. Their argument is simple: what Newsom and his caucus just did is unconstitutional, illegal, and corrosive to the public trust. The petition points out that the rushed legislation violates the state’s own rules—not only the notice requirement, but also the constitutional prohibition against partisan gerrymandering and the single-subject rule for ballot measures.
Democrats, the filing notes, tried to jam two separate, conflicting issues into one measure: petitioning Congress for nationwide independent commissions, while simultaneously scrapping California’s independent maps in favor of partisan lines drawn in secret by legislators.
The reaction has been blistering. Attorney Mike Columbo of Dhillon Law Group called the maneuver “an unconstitutional scheme that rips power away from the independent Citizens Redistricting Commission and hands it back to politicians.” State Senator Tony Strickland blasted it as proof of why Californians took redistricting away from the legislature in the first place: “That’s not democracy—that’s authoritarianism.” Assemblyman Tri Ta, who fled communist Vietnam, warned that the stunt reminded him of the rigged elections he thought he had left behind.
The stakes aren’t small. Newsom’s ploy would trigger a $200 million special election even as Californians groan under the weight of affordability crises, spiraling crime, and rampant homelessness. The petition now asks the Court to act before September 8 to halt this runaway train.
What makes the whole episode even more galling is its cynicism. California Democrats claim this is a response to Texas Republicans’ redistricting maneuvers, but their solution is not fairness—it’s unilateral power. After all, if the independent commission is good enough to use as a cudgel against Texas, why is it suddenly dispensable at home?
This is exactly why voters created the commission in the first place: to stop backroom deals, end partisan manipulation, and protect Californians from the very machinations now playing out in Sacramento. Newsom and his allies aren’t just bending the rules—they’re breaking them. And unless the state Supreme Court steps in, they’ll get away with it.
