When Jeanne Raya joined California’s first independent redistricting commission in 2010, she felt emboldened — this was the opportunity for a citizen-led group to do what she viewed as important work, free of partisan politics.

“It’s important because the process listens to the people, gives people the opportunity to participate actively, to have access to the maps and to have a voice in how they are drawn,” she said.

Raya, a Democrat, is now among the critics speaking out against the escalating political chess game between California and Texas, which races to redistrict ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has responded with his own plan to redraw the state’s political maps if the Republican-led effort in Texas is successful.

“It’s triggered on the basis of what occurs or

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