Rep. Kevin Kiley (I-Calif.) introduced a discharge petition Tuesday to force a House vote on his bill banning mid-cycle redistricting, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Discharge petitions are one of the few tools rank-and-file lawmakers can use to bypass House leadership and force legislation onto the floor. Six petitions have reached the required threshold this Congress.
- Kiley has spent months warning that mid-cycle redistricting could become a recurring partisan weapon if left unchecked.
- California’s new map reshaped his once Republican-leaning district, pushing him into more Democratic territory — and prompting him to leave the GOP and become an Independent.
- Kiley’s bill would prohibit states from redrawing congressional maps more than once every 10 years, after the census, unless a federal court orders it.
Driving the news: Kiley told Axios Wednesday that he sent a letter to Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) urging him and his caucus to back the petition.
- “This arms race could create a new norm where maps are redrawn to gain a temporary advantage every two years,” Kiley wrote to Jeffries in a letter obtained by Axios.
- “The result will be chaos for our democracy: a weakening of representation, a further polarization of Congress, and a deepening of the distrust and division that threaten our country’s future.”
Kiley said the petition’s success will likely hinge on whether Jeffries backs the effort.
