California voters will decide in less than two weeks whether or not they support Prop. 50 – a statewide redistricting ballot measure that, if approved, would give Democrats an advantage to win five of the Golden State’s 52 congressional seats in the next election.
The Nov. 4 special election will determine whether or not state officials will adopt a temporary voting Congressional District map they drafted to favor Democrats in five congressional races till the end of the decade.
As it stands, Republicans only hold nine U.S. House Seats from California.
Proponents, including Gov. Gavin Newsom and the California Democratic party, argue that the temporary change is a direct response to a similar redistricting effort in Texas favoring Republican candidates – a move Democrats call a power grab orchestrated by President Donald Trump.
They also argue it’s an opportunity to push back against cuts to healthcare, rising cost of living and the Trump administration’s federal immigration crackdown.
Florice Hoffman, chairwoman of the OC Democratic Party, said Proposition 50 is about leveling the playing field and Republicans know they are in trouble in the next election following nationwide No Kings protests this past weekend.
“Everyone should vote for Prop. 50 to level the playing field. It’s temporary. We’re voting directly on the maps, and it’s fair and proportional,” she said in a Tuesday phone interview.
“Just seeing the rise in the No Kings march, we know that people are upset about what’s going on in this country and we remember we will get to vote in 2026 and in 2028,” Hoffman continued. “They don’t want our voices heard.”
Ballots are picked up from an Official Drop Box in Santa Ana on Nov. 5, 2024. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC
Critics, including the California Republican Party, argue the special election will cost taxpayers millions.
They also say Prop. 50 would divide communities of color and say it is gerrymandering and allows politicians to draw up maps that favor their reelection – something California voters prohibited more than a decade ago by setting up an independent commission.
Will O’Neill, chairman of the OC Republican Party, said the proposition is focused more on getting Democrats into congress than keeping communities and neighborhoods together.
“People should vote against Prop 50, because it is a hyperpartisan gerrymandering with maps that were drawn behind closed doors and are carving up cities all over Orange County and purposely pushing power up into Los Angeles, over into Riverside and down into San Diego and away from a 3.2 million person-county here in Orange County,” he said in a Tuesday phone interview.
O’Neill said those who say the move is about responding to Texas “spend a lot more time thinking about 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue than about their neighbors across the street.”
“The problem with trying to think about the national level all the time is that you lose track of the local level, and when you are purposely silencing millions of people here in California, you lose any moral high ground about trying to claim defense of democracy,” he said.
Hoffman said although legislators drew the maps, voters will be the one to decide on them – calling them a fair representation of minority voters in Orange County and arguing that many districts will stay competitive.
“It’s pretty hypocritical for the Republicans in Orange County to be calling for independent redistricting, because they’re not for it,” she said, pointing in part to the OC Board of Education’s and the OC Board of Supervisor’s latest redistricting efforts.
Voters exit the San Clemente Community Center after casting their ballots on Nov. 8, 2022.
Since 2010, the California Citizens Redistricting Commission – made up of five Democrats, five Republicans and four members who aren’t registered with either political party – have drawn the congressional maps after voters yanked that power away from state legislators.
Neal Fornaciari, a Republican on the Commission and critic of Prop. 50, said the current map was drawn with 35,000 pieces of public input including proposed maps and public comments – something the proposed map ignores.
“We did our best to honor the wishes of the public when putting these maps together. The new maps have just basically hacked up a number of different communities and moved a lot of people around that wanted to be together or wanted to be apart,” he said in a Tuesday phone interview.
“When the commission drew maps, we counted voices. When the legislature drew maps, they counted bodies.”
The independent redistricting commission as a whole hasn’t taken a position on Prop. 50, but has defended the current map commissioners adopted a few years ago.
“The fact that the Commission’s maps have been in place for two election cycles with no legal challenges attests to the care and consideration that the commissioners gave to the input from the people of California and to the nonpartisan rules that guided the process,” reads an Aug. 28 news release.
“We stand behind our maps as a fair representation of the wishes of the people of California.”
Trays are set up for mail-in ballots that will arrive throughout the day on Nov. 5, 2024, in Santa Ana at the OC Registrar of Voters. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC
Recently, elected officials have publicly weighed in on the proposition with city council members in Orange, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Westminster, Mission Viejo, Yorba Linda and Seal Beach adopting resolutions against redrawing the congressional map.
[Read: Where Does Orange County Stand on California’s Nov. 4 Redistricting Battle?]
On Tuesday, officials in Santa Ana voted 6-0 to become the first in Orange County to adopt a resolution in support of Proposition at the request of City Councilman David Penaloza, who is running for state assembly.
Councilman Phil Bacerra was absent from the meeting.
“Proposition 50 is bigger than California alone,” Penaloza said at Tuesday’s meeting.
“By supporting this measure, we send a powerful message to the entire nation. California will always stand on the side of democracy, transparency and integrity, and most importantly, so will the city of Santa Ana.”
Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC
The redistricting efforts were also a focal point at the No Kings protest in Santa Ana’s centennial park on Saturday, with OC state legislators Senator Tom Umberg (D-Santa Ana) and Assemblyman Avelino Valencia (D-Anaheim) praising the proposal.
[Read: Thousands of People Rail Against ICE Raids, Other Federal Policies in Orange County]
Orange County Board of Supervisors and elected officials in Irvine, Fountain Valley, Stanton and Cypress also recently debated adopting resolutions against Prop. 50 but ultimately decided not to take a stand on the issue.
CalMatters reported Tuesday that proponents for the proposition raised close to $100 million in support of the ballot measure while critics have raised over $42 million against it.
According to the OC Registrar of Voters, there are over 1.9 million people registered to vote in Orange County with 36% registered as Democrats, 34% registered as Republicans and 23% registered as No Party Preference voters.
Select vote centers are expected to open in Orange County on Oct. 25 for early in-person voting, with all centers expected to be open on Nov. 1.
Hosam Elattar is a Voice of OC reporter. Contact him at helattar@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @ElattarHosam.
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