The California Republican Party filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday challenging a new state congressional map that is more favorable to Democrats, a day after voters approved a ballot measure that would allow for the temporary use of the map.
The state party and a cohort of voters argued the California Legislature violated the Constitution when it drew the new congressional lines based on race, particularly to favor Hispanic voters, infringing on a constitutional provision that prohibits racial discrimination.
The lawsuit, filed in the Central District of California, tees up a legal challenge to lines that will be facilitated by Proposition 50. The measure, a maneuver to hit back against redistricting by Republicans in Texas, would allow for a new congressional map designed to make it easier for Democrats to flip Republican-held seats.
California’s House delegation has 43 Democrats and nine Republicans. Five of those GOP members will now become newly vulnerable under the redrawn map.
The lawsuit argues the new map bumps up the number of districts that favor Hispanic voters from 14 districts to 16 districts. The plaintiffs in part point to a press release from a California state lawmaker that says the new map “retains and expands Voting Rights Act districts that empower Latino voters,” according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit argues the Supreme Court has ruled that states may not “separate citizens into different voting districts” based on race, without a compelling reason.
“When a state unlawfully engages in racial gerrymandering, it also violates the Fifteenth Amendment, which provides that the right of citizens to vote cannot be denied or abridged on account of race or color,” the lawsuit states.
The Supreme Court is currently considering a case about the use of race in redistricting that some experts say could curtail a key section of the Voting Rights Act used to ensure majority-minority congressional districts.
The state party is being represented by the Dhillon Law Group, the firm founded by Harmeet K. Dhillon, a Trump appointee who serves as the assistant attorney general for civil rights at the Justice Department.
California Republican Party Chairwoman Corrin Rankin said the lawsuit was about fair and equal representation. “We believe that Californians — no matter what color your skin is, no matter what your socioeconomic background is — you deserve to be treated fair, you deserve to be treated equally and that’s what this lawsuit is about,” she said.
Michael Columbo, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, said the map at issue is designed to favor one race of voters over others. “This violates the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection under the law, and the right under the 15th Amendment to not have one’s vote abridged on account of race,” he said.
Prop 50 greenlights a change from California’s typical process, one that relies on an independent citizens commission to draw district lines. The new lines will remain only through 2030, the proposition says.