Days after the California Supreme Court rejected an emergency petition from Republicans to block Gov. Gavin Newsom’s redistricting plans, the stage is set for the measure to appear on voters’ ballots in a special election Nov. 4. 

This proposition would require state congressional maps to be redrawn ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. These new maps would create new Democratic seats in the House of Representatives, and would be used until the normal post-census cycle begins again in 2031, following the 2030 census.

The measure comes as a response to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s redistricting plans, presented in a special session agenda reportedly at the behest of President Donald Trump and recently signed into law. Abbott’s redrawn map sees five congressional seats flipped in the House of Representatives, giving Republicans a more permanent majority moving forward. 

Diego Andrades, assistant director of the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences Center for the Political Future, said it was “not regular” for states to undergo redistricting in the middle of the decade, as it usually takes place following the census at the start of each decade. 

“We’re basically seeing this battle to the bottom with regard to redistricting play out across the country,” Andrades said. “A lot of political actors are doing things that are unprecedented, which is why we’re hearing so much about it.” 

While Andrades said his best-case scenario ends with a “proportional gerrymander” in which California finds five seats to match Texas’s five seats, he acknowledged the possibility of a “domino effect.” In this scenario, Democratic and Republican states both race to redistrict in an effort to win a House majority. 

However, Andrades said Republicans have more “trifectas” — states where one party holds the governorship, state house majority and state senate majority. While certain restrictions exist, such as districts protected by the Voting Rights Act or independent redistricting commissions, he said these trifectas can make it easier to push redistricting through by legislation. 

“If every state that could redistrict is able to do it, you still might see four to seven Republican seats at the end of the day that come out on top,” Andrades said. “So it really would benefit Republicans if everybody utilized that power.”

As more states re-examine their capabilities in the redistricting battle, Alexander Ramin, a freshman majoring in philosophy, politics and economics, expressed concern around gerrymandering.

“I personally think gerrymandering is fraud to the voter,” he said. “It’s a horrible act that a public servant, like Gavin Newsom, can be doing to his California citizens. He should be looking at things that serve the state of California to the best of his ability, rather than playing these unnecessary tit-for-tat games with people in Texas and senators in Texas.”

Kenleonard Oparaji, a junior majoring in public relations and advertising, as well as the director of communications for Trojan Democrats, said he was “proud” of Newsom for his part in the gerrymandering battle. 

Oparaji told the story of the recent flooding in Central Texas, his home state. He said the redistricting plans had taken priority over relief efforts for the flooding, which claimed more than 100 lives.

“The governor has the ability to release funding for floods,” Oparaji said. “Rather than taking the initiative to do that, our Governor Greg Abbott, and the GOP decided to work with Trump to prioritize redistricting over getting flood relief … it’s clear that our Texas GOP prioritizes the will of Donald Trump and his endeavors in keeping the House for the midterm elections.”

While gerrymandering would keep many of the districts in Southern California intact, Oparaji said USC students might feel the outcome of gerrymandering through potential changes in services such as student loans, Pell Grants, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits and Electronic Benefits Transfer.

“More Democrats in Congress that are able to fight to keep these programs and be a check on the Trump administration is something that all USC students should be excited for,” Oparaji said. “Or at least bringing back student loan relief for the next administration.”

Andrades said it’s “concerning” to imagine the use of redistricting in future administrations and state governor campaigns. 

“This race to the bottom is not going to benefit anybody, because it shows that there are cracks in our democracy,” Andrades said. “We haven’t seen anything like this before, so popularized across the country … It does create a domino effect, if there isn’t some kind of federal mechanism to stop redistricting as a political tool.”

Proposition 50, the ballot measure that initiates California’s redistricting, is up for special election Nov. 4. The state will begin distributing vote-by-mail ballots to active registered voters by Oct. 6, and vote centers open for early in-person voting in some counties, including Los Angeles County, starting Oct. 25.