A ballot drop box in San Diego County. (File photo courtesy of the Registrar of Voters)
I don’t like the game Trump Republicans are forcing us to play, but I refuse to let them play it unopposed. The path to protecting democracy runs right through San Diego County.
Redrawing congressional districts mid-decade feels uncomfortable. But what’s worse would be watching Democrats roll over while Republicans change the rules of the game, calling foul to referees who do nothing.
Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom launched the Election Rigging Response Act, setting a special election for Nov. 4. Triggered only if Texas or another GOP-run state enacts partisan map changes, the measure allows California’s Legislature to draw temporary congressional maps through 2030.
After that, power reverts to the Citizens Redistricting Commission. So this isn’t a unilateral power grab; it’s a transparent proposal going directly to the people for their vote of approval.
Contrast that with Texas, where Republican lawmakers are redrawing maps mid-decade behind closed doors, without voter approval, without oversight, without an independent commission. California’s path is fundamentally different: conditional, subject to a vote, and designed to reset the playing field, not entrench power.
Trump allegedly told the Texas governor to “find me five seats,” and Texas capitulated. California’s answer is very different: put the question to voters, debate it in public, and let the people decide. That’s not a power grab. That’s democracy in action.
And the stakes are especially high here in San Diego County. Under the proposed new map, Congressman Darrell Issa’s district is reshaped, stretching east into San Diego County and the Coachella Valley, shifting it from safely Republican toward more competitive.
In other words, San Diego finds itself right at the center of this fight. California’s plan could flip multiple seats across the state, but one of the most important battle lines runs straight through our county.
Newsom rightly frames this as pragmatic and counter-offensive. If we want to have a chance at maintaining our democracy, we can’t roll over. We have to meet Republicans where they are, and use their tactics against them. This isn’t about turning into our opponents; it’s about refusing to be their passive victims. Republicans have relied on a double standard for too long. It ends now.
Across the country, many people point to California’s independent Citizens Redistricting Commission as the gold standard, and they’re right. But this ballot measure is explicitly temporary, expiring after 2030, and only enacted with voter blessing. That distinction, temporary, conditional, and democratic, is the difference between principled action and partisan power grab.
I want to be clear, we cannot keep fighting this fight every decade, state by state, map by map. We need to end partisan gerrymandering once and for all. Congress should pass legislation requiring every state to create its own version of California’s independent Citizens Redistricting Commission: neutral, transparent, and accountable to voters, not party bosses.
If Republicans want fair play, they’ll support it. If they don’t, then at least voters will see where they stand.
I don’t like being forced into this position. But even more, I refuse to let Republicans rewrite the rules unchecked. We’re not surrendering to their hypocrisy. It’s time to show up, respond with strategic force, and let the people decide.
Kyle Krahel is former chair of the San Diego County Democratic Party and a candidate for District 5 on the Board of Supervisors.