Proposition 50, the California ballot measure that would abolish the state's independent redistricting commission and put the power back in the hands of the Democratic supermajority in the state assembly, has passed.
This is a major victory Governor Gavin Newsom and California Democrats, who put the measure on the ballot in response to Texas' redistricting and disenfranchise Republican voters in the state. Prop 50 would've given Democrats a five-seat advantage in Congress, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. Billionaire Leftist George Soros donated $10 million to the effort, as did others like Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, who contributed $2 million, and Silicon Valley billionaire Michael Moritz, who gave $2.5 million. However, Charles T. Munger Jr., who financed the redistricting commission that Prop 50 would suspend, gave more than $30 million.
Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger also came out against the measure, calling it an attack on democracy and saying, "That's what they want to do, take us backwards. This is why it is important for you to vote no on Proposition 50. The Constitution does not start with ‘We, the politicians.’ It starts with ‘We, the people.’ ... Democracy — we’ve got to protect it, and we’ve got to go and fight for it.”
During early voting, California residents raised concerns that election officials could see which ballots had "no" votes, as the mail-in envelopes had windows that made voters' choices visible. "If someone were unscrupulous and didn't like how I voted, they could double-mark it, which would invalidate my vote," Allen Wegat, a concerned voter, told CBS. "It makes it too easy for bad actors."
Gavin Newsom also misled voters on the measure. Republican Rep. Kevin Kiley (CA-03) told voters last month, "This whole thing has been cooked up by Gavin Newsom, calling a special election that's costing our taxpayers $300 million by the way, with one and only one purpose, and that is to bring back gerrymandering in California. And Newsom's explicit goal is to reduce the Republicans in Congress from California to four out of 52."
"That's like 7% of the seats. We get 40% of the vote in statewide elections," Kiley continued, "Princeton University said this is one of the two worst gerrymanders of the last 50 years."
Kiley also said Newsom lied when he told voters a map of the redistricting was on the ballot (it is not). It is not, although a map was included in the voters' guide mailed to Californians.
These new maps will go into effect for the 2026 midterm elections and remain in place until at least 2030.