The US Justice Department have entered the fray in a lawsuit initiated by California Republicans, seeking to halt the California's recently passed congressional redistricting map.
This court case, filed in federal court, challenges the map championed by the state's Democratic governor, which was created in reaction against a Republican-led gerrymander in Texas.
"California's redistricting scheme constitutes a brazen power grab that tramples on civil rights and mocks the democratic process," declared the nation's top law enforcement official.
Democrats have expressed confidence that the redistricting plan will withstand court challenges.
"These opponents lost at the ballot box and they are likely to face defeat in the judicial system," stated a representative for the governor.
Legal Basis
The lawsuit asserts that California's map improperly used race as a factor to significantly advantage Hispanic voters in violation of the federal constitution.
"Race cannot be used as a substitute to further partisan goals, but that is precisely what the California General Assembly did with the redistricting measure," argued a senior official from the DOJ's civil rights unit.
Political Context
The legal battle represents the most significant response by the Democratic party in the continuing redistricting war that started with Texas and has extended to multiple states.
In contrast to elsewhere, where Republican state legislatures have enacted gerrymanders, California's plan needed voter approval, which it received with nearly 65% of the vote.
National Implications
Democrats need to gain just a handful of Republican-held House seats to gain majority of the chamber in next year's midterm election.
The party that holds the controlling share will shape the final years of the sitting president's term, deciding if a unified Republican Congress will continue to deliver its political program or face resistance, congressional probes and possible further challenges.
- Legal counsel for the plaintiffs is being provided by a well-known legal group
- The firm's founder currently serves as senior DOJ official
- However, this attorney has been recused from this particular case
