Newsom is seeking the approval of the legislature for a plan to throw out the current congressional map, drawn by an “independent” commission, which has produced a delegation of 43 Democrats and 9 Republicans. He then wants the legislature to draw an even more partisan map that will favor Democrats, to be approved by voters.
Officials estimate that the cost of such a special election would be over $200 million.
In a letter to the Office of Legislative Counsel, DeMaio said that the state constitution prohibits redistricting between decennial Census years, and noted that it also establishes an independent redistricting commission.
DeMaio outlined a series of legal and constitutional violations that he accused Newsom of committing:
Violation 1: Federal Law, State Case Law, and State Constitution Prohibit Against Mid-Cycle Redistricting
The state constitution prohibits the state from taking any redistricting action mid-cycle that is not consistent with the clear timeline established by voters in the citizens’ initiative in 2010. Additionally, federal law does not permit a mid-cycle redistricting process by a state absent some direction from federal courts or federal agencies with proper jurisdiction.
Violation 2: State Constitution Prohibits Any Action by the Legislature
The state constitution prohibits the state legislature from being involved in any map creation or map adoption. Instead, the state constitution vests this authority solely with the Independent Citizens’ Redistricting Commission. The state constitution also prohibits the Governor from calling a Special Election at this time with proposed maps. Under Article 21, Section 2 item (i), the only time redistricting maps should be presented to voters is when they are “subject to referendum pursuant to Section 9 of Article II.”
Violation 3: State Constitution Prohibits Partisan Gerrymandering
Article 21- Section 2 item (e) of the state constitution reads: “Districts shall not be drawn for the purpose of favoring or discriminating against an incumbent, political candidate, or political party.” DeMaio says Newsom and state legislators have now publicly admitted they have engaged in illegal activity by crafting redistricting maps with the sole goal of “eliminating five Republican-held Congressional seats.” DeMaio says this amounts to a violation of their oath of office to uphold the Constitution.
The only way to redraw the state’s congressional districts, DeMaio argues, is to initiate the process through a referendum — not to redraw the maps first, and then to ask voters for their approval by referendum.
DeMaio’s memorandum to the Office of Legislative Counsel — available in full here — demands an immediate and public opinion from Director Cara Jenkins about whether Newsom is, in fact, acting legally or not.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of Trump 2.0: The Most Dramatic ‘First 100 Days’ in Presidential History, available for Amazon Kindle. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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