Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday laid out a case against a congressional redistricting initiative led by current Gov. Gavin Newsom ahead of a November special election.

Schwarzenegger, the only Republican to serve as California's governor in the 21st century, has long opposed the idea of gerrymandering. During a talk with USC Interim President Beong-Soo Kim for International Day of Democracy 2025 on Monday, he made his most public and stern statements against the initiative yet.

"It doesn't make any sense to me at all to go back with our principles," he said. 

After his election victory in 2003, the former bodybuilder and actor championed Prop 11, which created an independent commission to draw the State Assembly and State Senate districts. In 2010, the power of the California Citizens Redistricting Commission was extended to have control over congressional districts.

Schwarzennegger said opposition to those propositions on both sides of the aisle was a wake-up call for him as a newcomer to the political sphere.

"This is when I realized our democracy is in danger if we let them continue this way," he said.

Prop 50, a special election ballot measure in California on Nov. 4, would temporarily suspend the commission in favor of a legislature-drawn map until 2030.

"Today, they want to dismantle this independent commission," Schwarzenegger said. "They want to get rid of it under the auspices that we have to fight [President] Trump ... Two wrong behaviors don't make a right behavior."

Newsom says his support of Prop 50 is out of necessity to preserve fairness in representation in the U.S., as Texas approved similar legislation earlier this year to create five Republican-leaning districts to help the party maintain control of the House of Representatives.

"They fired the first shot, Texas. We wouldn't be here had Texas not done what they just did," Newsom said last month. "We're neutralizing what occurred [in Texas] and we're giving the American people a fair chance."

Schwarzanegger, who voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris over Mr. Trump in the 2024 presidential election, claimed that purposely gerrymandering California is anti-democratic, regardless of what's going on in other states.

"They are trying to fight for democracy by getting rid of the democratic principles of California," he said. "It is insane to let that happen. That is why it is important for you to vote no on Prop 50."

If Prop 50 is approved by voters, CA Democrats would be allowed to redraw the state's congressional lines in their favor and gain at least five House seats, offsetting Texas's redistricting action.