The bill is scheduled to hit the California legislature's election committee on Tuesday, then the appropriations committee Wednesday. If it passes those committees, a full vote by both houses will need to happen by Thursday to meet California's secretary of state deadline to get the initiative on a Nov. 4 special election ballot.

The California Legislature comes back from a summer recess and is slated to vote on a partisan plan to redraw congressional districts ahead of the 2026 midterms.

RCP senior elections analyst Sean Trende, who advised Virginia's post-2020 redistricting, said Democrats may regret redrawing California's maps in response to a controversial move from Texas Republicans. With many blue states already "maximal gerrymanders," Trende explained how the GOP has a lot...