California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday that he is moving forward with putting proposed new congressional maps for the state on the ballot in a Nov. 4 special election in an attempt to counter mid-decade redistricting being pushed by Republicans in Texas.

California’s redistricting measure, which Gov. Newsom signed into law last Thursday, is an “emergency defensive tactic,” says a former Santa Barbara County redistricting committee member.

The California map would take effect only a Republican state moves forward, and it would remain through the 2030 elections. After that, Democrats say they would return mapmaking power to the commission approved by voters more than a decade ago.