\u201cThe constitutional provisions in force now say that redistricting has to be done by the Independent Citizens Commission. It has to involve transparency and public participation. And it can\u2019t be for partisan gerrymandering,\u201d said Mike Columbo, an attorney representing Republicans. \u201cBy engaging in the redistricting process already, before asking for voters to grant them the power to do so, the Legislature has exceeded its power under the Constitution. The Legislature cannot break the law and ask for the people later to retroactively give it the power to redistrict.\u201d<\/p>\n
Loyola Marymount University law professor Jessica Levinson noted that voters are being asked to weigh in.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you think about what this proposal is trying to do, it\u2019s trying to change our state Constitution,\u201d she said. \u201cThe lawsuit is essentially arguing that these changes violate the Constitution as it stands. That\u2019s true \u2014 and that\u2019s why the voters are being asked to amend the Constitution to change it.\u201d<\/p>\n
More broadly, Levinson believes the suit faces a \u201cserious uphill battle,\u201d in part because judges are generally reluctant to get ahead of voters and prevent them from considering a question.<\/p>\n \u201cAt this point, if the California Supreme Court granted relief, they would be essentially prohibiting the voters from weighing in on this question,\u201d she said. \u201cSo in a sense, we should remember that all pre-election reviews in some way face an uphill battle.\u201d<\/p>\n The lawsuit also alleges more technical legal violations, including that the ballot measure violates a state law prohibiting initiatives from posing questions on more than one subject.<\/p>\n And it rehashes an argument that the state Supreme Court already declined to take up last week<\/a>: whether the legislation creating Proposition 50 was illegally passed because the bill was not in print for 30 days.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.kqed.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/04\/73076353.jpg\")