Do you like your representative in Congress and don’t want to lose them? Did you vote yes on creating an independent redistricting commission to mitigate the role of partisan politics in drawing congressional maps more than a decade ago?
All of that can change on Nov. 4. That’s when Californians will be asked to vote yes or no on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s ballot measure to redraw the state’s congressional districts in a way that would increase the odds of Democrats’ gaining five seats in the House of Representatives. It’s the governor’s bid to offset a Republican gambit in Texas to gerrymander five seats in favor of Republicans.
To help you make a decision on how to cast your ballot, we have a special edition of our Voter Guide out today to help you understand Proposition 50, the lone statewide item you’ll be voting on in seven weeks.
California voters approved ballot measures in 2008 and 2010 to model less-partisan redistricting behavior for the rest of the country. Several other states followed, but most still stick to the process of having state lawmakers draw maps in a partisan fashion at the close of every decennial census.
Enter Texas and Donald Trump. The president, fearing that the slim Republican majority in the House will disappear at the midterm elections next year, asked Texas GOP leaders to redraw their congressional maps this year to increase the odds more Republicans are elected. Texas delivered. So, Newsom and the supermajority of Democrats in the Legislature put together Prop. 50 to suspend the state’s independent redistricting commission until 2030 to try to neutralize what Texas did.
Already $90 million in campaign spending has poured into this ballot measure. So far, two polls show Californians are gearing up to approve Prop 50, though many are still undecided.
Learn more from the guide here.
