Federal authorities has officially joined a lawsuit initiated by California Republicans, aiming to block the state's newly approved electoral boundaries.
This court case, submitted to federal court, targets the map supported by the state's Democratic governor, which was developed in reaction against a GOP redistricting effort in Texas.
"California's electoral map represents a blatant attempt to seize control that violates voting rights and mocks the democratic process," declared the nation's top law enforcement official.
Democrats have voiced assurance that the new maps will withstand legal scrutiny.
"These opponents lost at the ballot box and soon they will also lose in court," stated a representative for the governor.
The legal challenge asserts that California's map improperly used racial considerations to significantly advantage Latino communities in contravention of the US Constitution.
"Race cannot be used as a proxy to further partisan goals, but that is precisely what the state legislature did with the redistricting measure," argued a high-ranking representative from the Civil Rights Division.
The legal battle represents the most significant response by Democrats in the ongoing redistricting war that began in Texas and has spread across various parts of the country.
In contrast to elsewhere, where Republican state legislatures have enacted gerrymanders, California's plan needed voter approval, which it obtained with nearly 65% of the vote.
Democrats need to flip just a small number of GOP-controlled House seats to gain majority of the chamber in next year's congressional elections.
The political group controlling the majority will shape the remaining period of the current administration, deciding if a unified Republican Congress will continue to deliver its political program or face resistance, congressional probes and potential additional obstacles.
Eva de Vries is a passionate book lover and local writer from Eindhoven.
