Republican state legislators have filed an emergency petition with the California Supreme Court to put a Democratic-led mid-decade redistricting effort on hold.

Filed Tuesday by the Dhillon Law Group and a number of California GOP lawmakers, the petition challenges what they say is an attempt by the Democratic-controlled legislature to bypass a 30-day public review period for such measures mandated by the state constitution.

"I believe Democrats, independents and Republicans want a voice on who represents them,"  Republican state Sen. Tony Strickland of Huntington Beach said Tuesday at a press conference announcing the petition.

California lawmakers are under a tight deadline to get the redistricting effort, named Proposition 50, through the chamber in time for a November special election.

The California redistricting effort, touted by Gov. Gavin Newsom, comes after President Trump asked Texas Republicans to redraw their congressional lines to be more favorable for the GOP as Republicans seek ways to keep their razor-thin majority in the U.S. House in the 2026 midterm elections. The Texas plan could lead to the GOP gaining five more seats in the House of Representatives. 

The moves in Texas and California have led to several other state leaders to say they are looking at ways to redraw Congressional districts. 

Proposition 50 would redraw five of California's nine current GOP districts to be more favorable for Democrats, offsetting the Texas plan.

"[Newsom] wants a system where it's predetermined who wins an election," Strickland said.

Newsom's office responded to the petition Tuesday, saying they were "neither surprised, nor worried."

"Republicans are filing a deeply unserious (and truly laughable) lawsuit to stop Americans from voting?" a spokesperson for Newsom's office said.

Congressional and legislative districts are typically redrawn after the decennial census to reflect population shifts, and every state has a different process for how the maps are approved. In Texas, congressional maps are drawn up by the state legislature and approved by the governor — all of which are controlled by Republicans. California is one of eight states that require independent commissions to draw congressional maps, making partisan gerrymandering more difficult. 

An independent commission was voted on by Californians in 2008 to handle redistricting after every ten-year census. Proposition 50 would suspend the commission, Democrats have said, with Newsom also stating that the independent effort would resume come the 2030 census.

California's Secretary of State office declined to comment on the petition filed by Republicans on Tuesday.

The bill is scheduled to be heard in committees through Wednesday, with a possible full vote by the California legislature needing to happen by Thursday. The California secretary of state gave Thursday as the deadline to get the initiative on a Nov. 4 special election ballot.