The Election Rigging Response Act is a direct response to efforts by Republicans in Texas to redraw their own maps, the Democratic governor said.

“You have the power to stand up on Nov. 4 for people who are being bullied,” he said. “You have the power to stand up for people who are being intimidated. You have the power to stand up to the rule of law. We are giving the people of this state the power to save democracy, not just in California but all across the United States of America.”

State lawmakers must declare a special election, which they plan to do next week. A draft of the Democrats’ proposed maps is expected to be released Friday, a spokesman for California State Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas told the Washington Examiner. Once the maps are out, lawmakers must act quickly and approve them by next week, which shouldn’t be problematic as Democrats hold supermajorities in both chambers.

Newsom added that the state government will affirm its commitment to California’s independent Redistricting Commission after the 2030 census, “but we’re asking the voters for their consent to do midterm redistricting in 2026, 2028 and 2030 for the congressional maps to respond to what’s happening in Texas … and we’ll do so in a way that also affirms our desire as a state to level the playing field all across the United States.”

Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) also had some harsh words for the president.

“I will say this, you come after our votes in California and we will fight you tooth and nail,” he said. “Donald Trump, you do not poke the bear.”

Newsom teased Thursday’s announcement, posting on social media the night before: “Donald Trump is about to have a very bad day.”

The news follows a contentious back-and-forth between California Democrats and the president over redistricting.

Trump suggested earlier this summer that Texas’s redistricting could help Republicans gain five House seats to keep the party in control after the 2026 midterm elections. Currently, Republicans have a seven-seat edge in the House, with four vacancies.

Trump has been able to enact his agenda, including passing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and clawing back funding for National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting System, because the GOP controls the White House and both chambers of Congress. If Democrats can flip the House, they could render Trump a lame duck during his last two years in office by blocking his legislation and launching congressional investigations.

On July 30, Texas state lawmakers rolled out their proposed map, which would create 30 Republican congressional seats compared to eight Democratic districts. This would be an expected five-seat boost for the GOP from its current 25-13 breakdown. Republicans are also looking for ways to add a dozen or more districts across Florida, Missouri, Ohio, and Indiana.

In response, states controlled by Democrats, including California, Illinois, and Maryland, have pledged to fight back.

Newsom has said he would not pursue a push to redraw California’s congressional districts as long as Texas Republicans ended their efforts, which is unlikely.

Sarah Sadwani, an assistant professor of politics at Pomona College and a member of California’s redistricting commission, told the crowd Thursday that the country was experiencing “extraordinary times, and extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures.”

“We have witnessed masked gunmen kidnapping our neighbors off the streets, and it’s my understanding that they are outside waiting to do it again,” she said.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were reported outside the venue as Newsom and other Democrats were speaking.

REDISTRICTING WARS THREATEN TO MAKE CONGRESS MORE PARTISAN

“We have seen not just the toleration of political violence but the encouragement of it,” Sadwani said. “We are watching executive overreach that no doubt is making our founding fathers turn in their graves, and we have to take action. We must be humble and we must be bold.”

Sadwani said she was ready to sign off on Newsom’s plan “with the expectation that this is a one-time occurrence. That this does not subvert the will of the people of California.”