50 TEXT OF PROPOSED LAW
PROPOSITION 50
This amendment proposed by Assembly Constitutional
Amendment 8 of the 2025–2026 Regular Session
(Resolution Chapter 156, Statutes of 2025) expressly
amends the California Constitution by adding a section
thereto; therefore, new provisions proposed to be
added are printed in italic type to indicate that they are new.
PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE XXI
First—This measure shall be known, and may be cited,
as the “Election Rigging Response Act. ”
Second—The people of the State of California find and
declare all of the following:
(a) President Donald Trump has called on Republican-
led states to undertake an unprecedented mid-decade
redistricting of congressional seats to rig the 2026
United States midterm elections before voting begins.
(b) The State of Texas has convened a special session
of its Legislature to redraw congressional district maps to unfairly advantage Republicans.
(c) The Legislature of the State of Florida has
established a select committee to advance an
extraordinary mid-decade redistricting to unfairly
advantage Republicans.
(d) Republicans have urged the State of Ohio to
conduct its mid-decade redistricting to unfairly
produce more Republican seats in Congress.
(e) Republican officials in the States of Indiana,
Missouri, New Hampshire, Nebraska, and South
Carolina are also considering President Trump’s call for the mid-decade redistricting of congressional seats to
unfairly advantage Republicans.
(f) President Trump and Republicans are attempting to
gain enough seats through redistricting to rig the
outcome of the 2026 United States midterm elections
regardless of how the people vote.
(g) President Trump’s election-rigging scheme is an
emergency for our democracy.
(h) The 2026 United States midterm elections are
voters’ only chance to provide an essential check and
balance against President Trump’s dangerous agenda.
(i) California has long stood as a national leader for fair, independent, and nonpartisan redistricting.
(j) California calls on all other states to commit to fair and impartial drawing of maps.
(k) California has a duty to defend democracy.
(l) The 2026 United States midterm elections for
Congress must be conducted on a level playing field
without an extreme and unfair advantage for
Republicans.
(m) The people of California, not politicians, should
have the power to approve temporary congressional
district maps in response to President Trump’s
election-rigging scheme.
(n) It is the intent of the people that California’s
temporary maps be designed to neutralize the partisan
gerrymandering being threatened by Republican-led
states without eroding fair representation for all
communities.
Third—That Section 4 is added to Article XXI thereof,
to read:
SEC. 4. (a) It is the policy of the State of California to support the use of fair, independent, and nonpartisan
redistricting commissions nationwide. The people of the State of California call on the Congress of the United
States to pass federal legislation and propose an
amendment of the United States Constitution to require
the use of fair, independent, and nonpartisan
redistricting commissions nationwide.
(b) In response to the congressional redistricting in
Texas in 2025, and notwithstanding any other provision
of this Constitution or existing law, the single-member districts for Congress reflected in Assembly Bill 604 of the 2025–26 Regular Session pursuant to the
requirements of Chapter 5 (commencing with Section
21400) of Division 21 of the Elections Code shall
temporarily be used for every congressional election for a term of office commencing on or after the date this
subdivision becomes operative and before the
certification of new congressional boundary lines drawn by the Citizens Redistricting Commission pursuant to
subdivision (d).
(c) (1) The Attorney General has the sole legal standing to defend any action regarding a congressional district map adopted pursuant to subdivision (b).
(2) The California Supreme Court has original and
exclusive jurisdiction in all proceedings in which a
congressional district map adopted pursuant to
subdivision (b) is challenged.
(d) The Citizens Redistricting Commission established
pursuant to Section 1 shall continue to adjust the
boundary lines of the congressional, State Senatorial,
Assembly, and Board of Equalization districts in
conformance with the standards and process set forth
in Section 2 in 2031, and every 10 years thereafter as
provided in Section 1.
Fourth—The provisions of this measure are severable.
If any portion, section, subdivision, paragraph, clause, sentence, phrase, word, or application of this measure
is for any reason held to be invalid by a decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, that decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this
measure. The Legislature hereby declares that it would
have proposed, and the voters hereby declare that they
would have adopted, this measure and every portion,
section, subdivision, paragraph, clause, sentence,
phrase, word, and application not declared invalid or
unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion
of this measure or application of this measure would be subsequently declared invalid.
18 | Text of Proposed Law