64% of California voters want to keep the state’s independent redistricting commission, even as Governor Gavin Newsom proposes bypassing it to let the Legislature redraw congressional maps.

Multiple recent news sources from August 2025 confirm that a significant majority of California voters, approximately 64%, favor maintaining the independent redistricting commission that was established to draw fair and impartial congressional district maps. This commission was created to reduce partisan gerrymandering by removing map-drawing power from the Legislature.

Governor Gavin Newsom, however, has proposed a plan to temporarily bypass this commission and allow the Democratic-led Legislature to redraw the congressional maps for the 2026 elections. Newsom's rationale is to counteract redistricting efforts by Republican-led states like Texas, which he argues are designed to disadvantage Democrats nationally.

Despite Newsom's proposal, polling data indicates that most voters remain attached to the independent commission model. This creates a political tension between voter preferences for independent oversight and the governor's strategic push for legislative control over redistricting in this cycle.

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This analysis aligns with multiple reputable news outlets reporting on the political debate and polling data surrounding California's redistricting process as of August 2025.