Tipsheet

Do Californians Oppose or Support Gerrymandering? This New Exit Poll Raises Some Questions

Dmitri Bolt
Dmitri Bolt  |  November 05, 2025 2:30 PM

Californians overwhelmingly voted to pass Proposition 50 on Tuesday, moving the responsibility of redistricting from an Independent commission to the state's Democratic supermajority legislature. However, it is unclear if Californians actually know what they voted for, according to one of the exit polls.

When voters were asked whether congressional districts should be drawn by the party in power or by a nonpartisan commission, 92 percent favored a nonpartisan commission, while just 7 percent supported allowing the ruling party to draw the maps.

Yet for some reason, as of current voting data, Prop 50 is set to pass with around 65 percent support. So what caused the disparity?

This is most likely an example of people simply voting along partisan lines, without putting much thought into their decision. Democrats told Californians that Prop 50 would be good, that they could stand against President Trump, and "save democracy." Californians blindly listened. 

Representative Kevin Kiley of California went so far as to say that Governor Newsom and Prop 50 proponents purposely confused the issue, in order to get people to vote yes.

Kiley also argued that even Princeton University has said that California's new proposed map would be one of the two worst gerrymanderings of the last half-century.