California State Senate Chambers. (Photo: Katy Grimes for California Globe)
Redistricting Bills Jammed Through Senate Thursday Violate California Constitution
Democrats violated their own attorneys’ legal advice
By Katy Grimes, August 22, 2025 11:58 am
In 2009, Republican Sen. Jeff Denham sought to end the practice of “polling” members ahead of a floor vote. He said “polling” violated Senate rules.
“Polling is a practice by which the five members of the Rules Committee are asked which way they would likely vote on a particular bill, without the Committee actually meeting,” Capitol Weekly reported. “Denham and Republican staffers say that at least two controversial Democratic bills were saved by polling during the last session, each when they were nearing important deadlines. His office has obtained an opinion from the Legislative Counsel which appears to state that polling violates Senate rules.”
The bottom line is polling in the California Legislature is not legal on policy issues.
Flash forward to 2025, and sources inside of the State Capitol tell the Globe that “polling” was done with the redistricting bill package.
An internal Senate memo provided to the Globe shows a request for a “Rule Waiver Request” on AB 604, ACA 8, and SB 280, the 3-measure package on Congressional redistricting.
In the California Legislature, a rule waiver request is a formal request for an exception to the Assembly, Senate, or Joint Rules during the legislative process, requiring a vote or formal approval from the respective house or leadership to proceed.
Ion an email exchange Monday August 18, 2025, Senate Republican Leader Brian Jones rejected the polling request on the “major policy matter” of Redistricting.
Senate Democrats didn’t want to hold hearings on the redistricting policy issues.
SB 280 bill history shows on August 21, Senate Rule 29.10(d) was suspended:
| 08/21/25 | Senate Rule 29.10(d) suspended. (Ayes 30. Noes 9.) |
29.10.(a) If the analysis, prepared in accordance with subdivision (b) of Rule 29.8, of proposed floor amendments to a bill, other than the Budget Bill, discloses that the amendments create a new bill or rewrite the current form of the bill, upon adoption of the amendments the bill shall be reprinted and referred to the Committee on Rules.
(d) If the analysis, prepared in accordance with subdivision (a) of Rule 29.8, of a bill, other than the Budget Bill, that is returned to the Senate for a vote on concurrence discloses that the Assembly amendments create a new bill or rewrite the bill as passed by the Senate, the bill shall be referred to the Committee on Rules. The Committee on Rules by a vote of a majority of its membership may either (1) refer the bill to an appropriate standing committee, (2) recommend that the bill be taken up for consideration of the Assembly amendments, or (3) hold the bill.
ACA 8 bill history also had Senate rules suspended:
| 08/21/25 | Joint Rule 10.5 suspended. (Ayes 30. Noes 9.) |
| 08/21/25 | Senate Rule 19 suspended. (Ayes 30. Noes 9.) |
As did the bill history on AB 604:
| 08/21/25 | Assembly Rule 63 suspended. (Ayes 55. Noes 18.) |
The three-bill redistricting package should have had a Rules Committee hearing on them, as Senator Jones requested.
Someone could take this to court as Senate Democrats violated their own 2024 legislative counsel legal opinion (below). Legislative Counsel wrote:
“Serial polling is the act of canvassing votes of members of a legislative body through an intermediary by means of separate communications with each individual member when the members are not assembled together. Proxy voting is a process by which, out of the presence of the public, a member authorizes another person to cast a vote on the member’s behalf.
With this context in mind, you have asked us to describe any constitutional restrictions on use of serial polling or proxy polling by the Senate Rules Committee to vote on matters that are subject to Senate Rules Committee approval at a proceeding but do not qualify for a closed meeting (away from the public).
Legislative Counsel concluded:
For the foregoing reasons, if the Senate Rules Committee were to use serial polling and proxy voting to vote on matters that are subject to Senate Rules Committee approval at a proceeding, but do not qualify for a closed meeting (away from the public), it is our opinion that such use would be restricted by the requirements in the California Constitution Article IV providing for physical presence and deliberation and open and public meetings.
Bottom line: California Senate leaders violated the California Constitution by jamming the three redistricting bills through without so much as a brief Rules Committee hearing.
The three bills, AB 604, ACA 8, and SB 280, should not have come to the Senate Floor for a vote on Thursday without a hearing of the Senate Rules Committee.
Democrats have known for years that polling votes on policy matters is a serious violation, and they have known that Republicans have argued against it for years, as then-senator Jeff Denham did in 2009, and Senate Leader Jones did again in 2025 after obtaining a legal opinion from California Legislative Counsel in 2024.
Democrats violated their own attorneys’ legal advice.
OLC to Jones 7.12.2024 Senate Rules Committee Voting #2411374
A California native and Navy mom, Katy lives in Sacramento, CA.
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Katy, this is so good —- as well as reassuring —- to know.
Thank you again for your beyond-excellent work.
check out this article
https://www.flashreport.org/blog/2025/08/22/did-the-democrats-screw-up-their-redistricting-scam/
@Jimmy, This is a very interesting article about the legal missteps taken by the Democrats on redistricting. If we don’t have a corrupt California Supreme Court, redistricting should be thrown out.
Oh boy, this is good. Thank you Jimmy.
This is what happens when a bunch of “community organizers” get together and act on their EMOTIONS…
Unfortunately, the CA Superior Court is also comprised thusly, as well….
Vote Chad Bianco if we want to fix this…
This article by Katy shows how the California Legislature has a “Rules Don’t Apply to Us” attitude. These are politicians who took an oath uphold the Constitution of California and the United States.
These are corrupt politicians.
Oath, Schmoath, they would say. What are you gonna do about it? they would say. We’ve had no consequences yet! they would say. We’re the mega-majority Democrat legislature! they would say. Bet you’re not making as much money as we are as California legislators! they would say.
Yes, corrupt and rotten up to their eyeballs. and beyond.
In the immortal words of Katy Grimes from back in the day when Moonbeam was governor, when told a bill he had signed into law was unconstitutional, his reply was always “So sue me”.
Nothing has changed with California Democrats. It’s only gotten worse.
Pshaw… Laws and constitutionalities are for “normies”….
Like that Robert dude that’s been showing up around here lately to rail about President Trump’s personality and how inferior he is to these obviously superior Democrats…
I had to laugh when I saw articles about the first two organizations supporting this redistricting scheme. The first was the California Federation of Labor Unions, headed by none other than Lorena Gonzalez. The second was Planned Parenthood of California, headed by the wife of the guy that drew the maps!
Can these people get any more obvious?
California policies are being dictated by a cabal of Communists, plain and simple.
They have no shame!
Lorena Gonazlez, there’s a name I could do without hearing ever again. I wonder how the grifter hubby is doing?
Cabal of communists is correct! That’s why they have no issue shredding the constitution.
NO on 50! Democrats need to heed their own platitudes and “respect the rule of law.”
Who cares about the California Constitution? Trump thinks he can rewrite the US Constitution by ordering parts of it taken off a website! Such a stable genius. But TACO strikes again – the missing sections were restored.
Hair-gel Hitler Newsom and his coven of Democrat thug legislators blatantly don’t care about California’s Constitution as they violate it with their illegal redistricting plan. Newsom’s bitchy rapid response media queens like “Robert G. Martinengo” are failing miserably at their attempts to divert attention from Newsom’s criminality and prop him up.
Uhh, speaking of diverting attention – EPSTEIN FILES!
We all know Trump diddled kids – that’s the only reason he hung around Epstein.
That, and the money laundering.
And the drugs.
And the botox bride of Frankenstein (sorry, ‘Einstein Visa Recipient’ – lolllll)
“The “Einstein visa” is a nickname for a U.S. visa category designed for individuals with extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics.”
Melania sure must have had some extraordinary ‘athletic abilities’ in her prime.
If she wrote a book it could be called ‘The Art of the Feel’
You would know all about diddling kids being a sexually depraved Democrat desperately trying to defend and prop up a pervert like Hair-gel Hitler Newsom? One can only imagine the evil satanic rituals involving children and animals. Hair-gel Hitler Newsom and his criminal Democrat thug mafia will fight to the death to keep California an open border sanctuary state because the flow of drugs, human trafficking, and money laundering is very profitable for them. It’s no wonder that Hair-gel Hitler Newsom employs an army of rapid response bitchy queens like you to divert attention from his criminality.
https://californiaglobe.com/articles/california-is-for-sale-with-gavin-newsoms-pay-to-play-politics/
Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the wife of California Governor Gavin Newsom (aka Hair-gel Hitler) and a failed actress, contacted Harvey Weinstein in 2007 to seek advice on handling negative press surrounding an affair that Gavin Newsom had admitted to having with his campaign manager’s wife. This email exchange occurred two years after Siebel Newsom alleged that Weinstein raped her in 2005. In the email, she reached out to Weinstein, asking for guidance regarding media coverage of the scandal involving Gavin Newsom. Weinstein’s defense team argued that her decision to contact him for advice indicated an ongoing friendly relationship, which they used to support their claim that any interaction between them was consensual rather than assaultive.
Oops? It’s no wonder that she’s known as Weinstein’s trollop?
https://californiaglobe.com/fr/exclusive-rose-mcgowan-details-jennifer-newsom-attempt-to-silence-her/
You’re off your meds again. Be safe.
Thank you proving just how utterly stupid Democratic trolls are. You obviously have not the slightest idea how the legal system works, the constitution(s) work or for that matter how websites work.
Or what is quite simply a made up lie. Which is what you parroted,
Some web design person made a coding error when updating the Library of Congress website. It was quickly corrected. That’s all . That’s what actually happened. In the real world. Not your TDS fantasy world. The Library of Congress even put up an explanation of what happened. On their website.
And as you seen to have the mental acuity of a dead sheep even if the website of the Federal Register the actual definitive source of the texts of all laws of the United State is incorrect or in error the published hardcopy (that’s on paper for you) of all laws, acts, amendments etc and other legal instruments of the Federal Government is the actual law. The definitive law. Not what is written on some third party website.
You need to get out more. Out of whatever very tiny media silo echo chamber you obviously live in.
❄️❄️❄️
^^^^
This is the equivalent of the elementary school playground taunt of “I know you are, but what am I???”
Thanks for being the resident clown, Robert….
You’re off your meds again. Be safe.
Haven’t looked up the case-law yet but I am sure it is there. How many state public officials have been ejected / disqualified from elected office for breaking their Oath of Office? The state Democrats in the Assembly have been just piling them on recently.
>>
“I, …………, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties upon which I am about to enter.
<<
the California Constitution like the US Constitution have been violated for years. We’re only concerned now because the chaos induced by lawlessness is consuming and destroying us.
Good chance that even if this ends up going to the ballot box in November and is approved by the braindead voters in California (which they probably will) that it will be overturned by courts before the 2026 election…or at least be held up enough that they can’t go into effect by then. Just like courts have overturned plenty of other propositions passed by voters in California in the past (remember when California voters passed an amendment to the state constitution that legal marriage is only between a man and a woman and then the courts overturned that while Gov. Hairdo ignored the will of the people anyway? Same thing with the proposition that would have restricted taxpayer funded services to legal residents only).
So Texas’s move is illegal as well?
Nope, it’s actually mandated by the Texas Supreme Court. TX population has grown so much due to all those folks fleeing CA that they need to redistrict before the next Census. It is known.
anyone ever notice it is ALWAYS the commie-crats who ignore the constitional law, whether it us federal, state, county or city ?