California Republican state legislative leaders have asked the Department of Justice to investigate “corruption and illegality” they say is behind the state Democratic Party’s push for drawing up new boundaries for the state’s congressional districts.
In a letter to the DOJ and provided to Newsmax, the California Republicans said an “immediate investigation” was warranted to look at “allegations of corruption and illegality involving members of the California state legislature and their current redistricting scheme.”
Simultaneously, the GOP lawmakers have asked the California State Supreme Court to intervene in the redistricting effort.
In the letter to the DOJ, the Republicans characterized the redistricting as “unprecedented and unnecessary.” They raised the issue of a legislative redistricting effort in the state being illegal. “Article 21 of the California state constitution expressly prohibits such an effort,” they wrote. “And public opinion is solidly against the idea of nullifying the independent Citizens Redistricting Commission and handing the power back to politicians to manipulate the lines of their own districts.”
They also point to media reports that claim at least one California state senator may have been involved in a connected vote-trading scheme, writing, “We believe that the backroom dealings may rise to an unlawful level of bribery and vote trading.”
KCRA3 in Sacramento reported that the emergency request to the California State Supreme Court to intervene was filed by several Republican state lawmakers and a law firm. The request was for the court to initiate a pause on all related legislative activity pending a complete review of how the issue was being handled.
California voters took the power to draw congressional district boundaries away from the legislature about 20 years ago.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom led the move to create new districts in direct response to a Republican-led redistricting effort in Texas. Posting about the issue, he wrote, “On November 4th in California, you will have the power to stand up to @realDonaldTrump. You will have the power to stand up for people. We’re going to give the people of this state the power to stand up for democracy.”
Majority Republicans in the Texas legislature planned to vote Wednesday to move ahead with their redistricting effort now that Democrat members of the legislature returned after fleeing the state to prevent the plan from advancing.
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