More than 1 million ballots turned in for California special election on Prop 50, data firm says
NEXT MONTH’S SPECIAL ELECTION. IF APPROVED, PROP 50 WILL GIVE CALIFORNIA LAWMAKERS THE POWER TO REDRAW CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS, CREATING FIVE HOUSE SEATS FOR DEMOCRATS. KCRA 3’S CECIL HANNIBAL JOINS US LIVE IN DOWNTOWN SACRAMENTO. SO, CECIL, WHAT ARE VOTERS SAYING ABOUT THE PROCESS SO FAR? WE SPOKE TO SEVERAL VOTERS TODAY WHO SAY THAT IT’S BEEN A SMOOTH AND EASY PROCESS SO FAR. ONE, BECAUSE THEY CAN SIMPLY WALK UP OR DRIVE UP TO A BALLOT BOX AND PUT THEIR VOTE RIGHT IN THERE. OR ALSO BECAUSE THEY SAY WHAT’S ON THE BALLOT IS SIMPLE. IT’S 70 WORDS. ONE QUESTION WITH TWO OPTIONS YES OR NO FOR PROP 50. NOW, ELECTION OFFICIALS TODAY SAY THEY WANT THIS TO BE A SIMPLE AND SMOOTH PROCESS FOR VOTERS. PROBABLY WONDERING WHY WE’RE HERE IN DOCO. WELL, THAT’S BECAUSE THIS IS ONE LOCATION WHERE VOTERS IN SACRAMENTO COUNTY CAN COME DROP OFF THEIR BALLOT INSIDE OF THE KINGS TEAM STORE. ACTUALLY, AN EMPLOYEE JUST TOLD ME THEY’VE HAD THREE PEOPLE SHOW UP TODAY, TWO YESTERDAY. SO PEOPLE ARE GETTING OUT AND CASTING THEIR VOTES NOW. SACRAMENTO, EL DORADO AND SAN JOAQUIN COUNTIES ALL SAY THAT BALLOTS HAVE BEEN MAILED OUT, AND IF YOU HAVEN’T RECEIVED IT ALREADY, YOU SHOULD VERY SOON. WELL, YOU KNOW, VOTING LASTS UNTIL NOVEMBER 4TH. ANOTHER REMINDER FOR YOU WHEN YOU’RE DROPPING OFF YOUR BALLOT, MAKE SURE YOU SIGN THE PINK ENVELOPE. THAT’S VERY, VERY IMPORTANT. SO ELECTION OFFICIALS CAN VERIFY THAT IT IS YOU AND NOT VOTER FRAUD. YOU CAN ALSO MAIL IT IN FOR FREE THROUGH USPS. NOW WE TALKED ABOUT PROP 50, BUT IT’S NOW TIME FOR VOTERS TO DECIDE WITHOUT DISCUSSING PARTY AFFILIATION. WE TALKED TO VOTERS IN SACRAMENTO COUNTY TODAY ABOUT THE MEASURE. WELL, IT’S REALLY ONE SINGLE QUESTION. AND THAT QUESTION IS CLEAR TO ME. I THINK THAT IT’S THE RIGHT THING TO DO AT THIS MOMENT IN TIME. I THINK IT’S REALLY UNFORTUNATE THAT WE HAVE TO DO THIS, BUT I FEEL LIKE WE’VE BEEN FORCED BY THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. ONLY ONE VOTE. YOU KNOW, GOT TO DO WHAT I THINK IS RIGHT. YEAH. BACK OUT HERE LIVE AGAIN. THIS IS ONE LOCATION WHERE VOTERS CAN DROP OFF THEIR BALLOTS. IF YOU’RE HEADING TO A KINGS PRESEASON GAME THIS WEEK, RIGHT ON YOUR WAY TO THE ARENA OR SOMEWHERE TO WATCH THE GAME, YOU CAN JUST COME DROP OFF YOUR BALLOT. NOW WE’RE TALKING ABOUT DROP OFF YOUR BALLOT. IF YOU HAVE ANY CONCERNS ABOUT SECURITY. TODAY, WE TALKED TO ELECTION OFFICIALS FROM SACRAMENTO, EL DORADO AND SAN JOAQUIN COUNTIES ABOUT JUST THAT SECURITY AND STAFFING FOR THIS SPECIAL ELECTION. WE’LL HAVE MORE ON THOSE DISCUSSIONS COMING UP TONIGHT AT SIX. LIVE IN DOCO. CECIL HANNIBAL KCRA THREE NEWS, OKC. SO THANK YOU. AND THE SECRETARY OF STATE’S OFFICE OFFERS A WAY FOR VOTERS TO TRACK THEIR BALLOTS. IT’S CALLED WHERE’S MY BALLOT? VOTERS COULD SIGN UP WITH THEIR NAME, THEIR BIRTH DATE, AND ZIP CODE. ONCE LOGGED IN, YOU CAN TRACK WHERE THE BALLOT IS FROM WHEN IT’S MAILED TO YOU, SENT BACK TO COUNTY ELECTIONS OFFICE, AND RECEIVED AND THEN COUNTED. JUST A REMINDER, THE LAST DAY TO REGISTER IS OCTOBER 20TH AND TODAY IS THE SEVENTH. SO AS OF LAST MONTH, NEARLY HALF OF ALL VOTERS ARE REGISTERED. DEMOCRATS, 25% A
More than 1 million ballots turned in for California special election on Prop 50, data firm says
Updated: 4:29 PM PDT Oct 15, 2025
More than 1 million ballots have been returned so far in California’s special election to decide Proposition 50, according to a data firm used by political campaigns.Political Data Inc. said on X Wednesday that 4.49% of ballots sent out to California voters have already been returned. The firm cited a rate that was “close to recall election numbers,” in a reference to the 2021 vote over whether to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom. According to the early mail-in vote, 5% of Democrats and 5% of Republicans have turned in their ballots. That equates to more than 530,000 votes from Democrats and more than 293,000 from Republicans. About 76% of ballots returned were from people ages 50 or older. White voters have been overrepresented with 72% of the vote so far. California voters on Nov. 4 will decide if the state should temporarily toss its current congressional district map drawn by the state’s independent commission and replace it with a new one that was quickly drawn by Democrats. It’s part of a larger national fight in which Republicans and Democrats are trying to gerrymander their congressional districts to determine which party controls the U.S. House of Representatives halfway through President Donald Trump’s term.The proposed maps target five California Republicans in an attempt to offset the five Republicans Texas is aiming to add.If approved, the maps would be in place for the 2026, 2028 and 2030 elections. State leaders have said the power to draw maps would return to the independent redistricting commission in 2031.One of the people who works at Political Data Inc., Paul Mitchell, is the owner of a consulting firm that helped to create the congressional redistricting maps for Democrats. He said he is not campaigning for the measure. The last day to register to vote is Oct. 20, though people can also vote on Nov. 3 with Conditional Voter Registration. | RELATED | Everything you need to know about California’s Proposition 50See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channelPHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiPiFmdW5jdGlvbigpeyJ1c2Ugc3RyaWN0Ijt3aW5kb3cuYWRkRXZlbnRMaXN0ZW5lcigibWVzc2FnZSIsKGZ1bmN0aW9uKGUpe2lmKHZvaWQgMCE9PWUuZGF0YVsiZGF0YXdyYXBwZXItaGVpZ2h0Il0pe3ZhciB0PWRvY3VtZW50LnF1ZXJ5U2VsZWN0b3JBbGwoImlmcmFtZSIpO2Zvcih2YXIgYSBpbiBlLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdKWZvcih2YXIgcj0wO3I8dC5sZW5ndGg7cisrKXtpZih0W3JdLmNvbnRlbnRXaW5kb3c9PT1lLnNvdXJjZSl0W3JdLnN0eWxlLmhlaWdodD1lLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdW2FdKyJweCJ9fX0pKX0oKTs8L3NjcmlwdD4=
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
More than 1 million ballots have been returned so far in California’s special election to decide Proposition 50, according to a data firm used by political campaigns.
Political Data Inc. said on X Wednesday that 4.49% of ballots sent out to California voters have already been returned.
The firm cited a rate that was “close to recall election numbers,” in a reference to the 2021 vote over whether to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom.
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According to the early mail-in vote, 5% of Democrats and 5% of Republicans have turned in their ballots. That equates to more than 530,000 votes from Democrats and more than 293,000 from Republicans.
About 76% of ballots returned were from people ages 50 or older. White voters have been overrepresented with 72% of the vote so far.
California voters on Nov. 4 will decide if the state should temporarily toss its current congressional district map drawn by the state’s independent commission and replace it with a new one that was quickly drawn by Democrats. It’s part of a larger national fight in which Republicans and Democrats are trying to gerrymander their congressional districts to determine which party controls the U.S. House of Representatives halfway through President Donald Trump’s term.
The proposed maps target five California Republicans in an attempt to offset the five Republicans Texas is aiming to add.
If approved, the maps would be in place for the 2026, 2028 and 2030 elections. State leaders have said the power to draw maps would return to the independent redistricting commission in 2031.
One of the people who works at Political Data Inc., Paul Mitchell, is the owner of a consulting firm that helped to create the congressional redistricting maps for Democrats. He said he is not campaigning for the measure.
The last day to register to vote is Oct. 20, though people can also vote on Nov. 3 with Conditional Voter Registration.
| RELATED | Everything you need to know about California’s Proposition 50
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel