When it comes to redistricting, many would argue that California didn’t start the fight. But supporters of Prop 50, which seeks to temporarily replace redistricting laws in the state, claim the nation’s most populous state has an opportunity to even the scales this election season – by embracing the very tactics that tipped them in the first place.
Students passing the Alumni and Visitor Center Parking Lot in recent weeks may have noticed banners advertising a ballot drop box there. This resource has enabled members of the campus community to do their part in a special election on Prop 50. The voting period is currently ongoing and concludes on Tuesday, Nov. 4.
Also known as the “Election Rigging Response Act,” Prop 50 was drafted by Gov. Gavin Newsom with support from the Democrat-led state legislature. The measure is intended as a response to redistricting efforts in Texas, which passed earlier this year.
Those efforts allegedly began with urging from the Trump administration, which fears losses in the 2026 midterm elections could cost the GOP its narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. That would create a significant “doorstop” to the White House’s agenda, forcing the GOP to rely on bipartisan support to pass legislation and even leaving the president vulnerable to the dreaded impeachment proceedings that marred his first term. In response, he has directed Texas and other red states to begin redrawing their congressional districts in order to give his party an edge in future elections.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed the new maps into law in August, a move that constituted successful gerrymandering – a process of deliberate redistricting to benefit one class or political party over another. In Texas’s case, the maps are expected to flip five blue-leaning districts, replacing Democratic representatives there with Republicans during next year’s midterms.
While the theory of negating those gains with retaliatory redistricting in blue states seems simple, the process is far more complicated in practice. Unlike Texas, where state legislators enjoy broad power to redraw congressional districts, California has historically maintained more strict protections against gerrymandering. The 2008 Voters First Act created the California Citizens Redistricting Commission, an independent, nonpartisan committee to oversee redistricting in the state.
The governor and Democratic lawmakers, however, argue that desperate times call for desperate measures. Prop 50 would temporarily sideline the Redistricting Commission, restoring state legislature’s authority to redraw districts for the 2026, 2028 and 2030 election cycles. After that, redistricting power would purportedly return to the Commission.
In accordance with the stated goal of cancelling out Texas GOP gains, the redrawn California congressional maps are also expected to yield up to five flipped seats. While the Democrats are still likely to be at a disadvantage going into next year’s midterms – redistricting has mostly stalled in other blue states, while Missouri, North Carolina and other red states have already begun drawing and approving their own gerrymandered maps – passing Prop 50 would allow them to avoid the worst-case scenario, whereby flipping the House would become nearly impossible. Proponents of the amendment include former President Barack Obama, who said that “democracy is on the ballot” in the special election.
County election officials began mailing ballots to registered voters on Oct. 6, with delivery status for ballots available through the state-run “Where’s My Ballot?” online tool. For those who have not yet received their ballots, an in-person voting center at the Embassy Suites in Seaside will also be open from Oct. 31 until 8 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 4.