{"id":13851,"date":"2025-10-20T08:23:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T08:23:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/13851\/"},"modified":"2025-10-20T08:23:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T08:23:07","slug":"how-cas-redistricting-fight-impacts-black-communities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/13851\/","title":{"rendered":"How CA\u2019s Redistricting Fight Impacts Black Communities"},"content":{"rendered":"

Voting for Proposition 50 is underway. The ballot measure would allow California to temporarily redraw congressional district maps. If it passes, the new legislative map drawn by members of Congress would be used in the 2026, 2028, and 2030 U.S. House elections in California, and after the 2030 census the independent Citizens Redistricting Commission would resume drawing new maps, starting in 2031.<\/p>\n

The initiative is a direct response to Texas, which redrew its congressional map this summer at the request of President Donald Trump. Combined, sides for and against the proposition have spent more than $200 million to influence voters.<\/p>\n

Supporters, including Gov. Gavin Newsom and several California lawmakers, say the measure is necessary to counter redistricting efforts in Texas and other Republican-led states that could weaken the representation of California\u2019s diverse voters.<\/p>\n

Polling suggests that Black voters have expressed concern over whether the new congressional map, if approved by California voters, would dilute the impact of their vote while others say they do not know enough about Prop 50 to make an educated vote.<\/p>\n

Newsom frames Prop 50 as a critical defense of democracy and a response to attacks on voting rights across the country. The governor referenced the 2013 Shelby County v. Holder decision and the Trump administration\u2019s efforts to roll back protections. \u201cThis idea is pretty self-evident to anyone that\u2019s paying attention, that the Trump administration wants to put America in reverse,\u201d Newsom said. \u201cHe wants to bring us back to a pre-1960s world. And you\u2019re seeing it across the spectrum, not just on voting rights and civil rights, but you\u2019re seeing it on LGBTQ rights. You\u2019re seeing it across the spectrum as it relates to women\u2019s rights \u2026 not just access to abortion, but even basic access to medical care. And it\u2019s a remarkable and sobering time in U.S. history.\u201d<\/p>\n

Newsom also described the unprecedented nature of Trump\u2019s interference in Texas, which began with a phone call made to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, directing him to have Texas redraw congressional maps.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did not choose to be here. This was not the fight we wanted to fight this November,\u201d Newsom told the Black Press at a digital briefing. \u201cThe president of the United States has never made a phone call to a sitting governor to direct that governor to do a mid-decade redistricting. So unprecedented that Greg Abbott himself was initially reticent. Even Greg Abbott recognized the nature and the consequences of what the president was demanding.\u201d<\/p>\n

Newsom voiced great concern about Trump\u2019s claim that he is \u201centitled\u201d to five seats. \u201cAnd if that doesn\u2019t put a chill up your spine, I don\u2019t know what else does,\u201d Newsom said.<\/p>\n

Newsom stressed that Prop 50 is temporary and transparent.<\/p>\n

\u201cAgain, it\u2019s in response to [Trump], and so we\u2019re maintaining the Independent Redistricting Commission. I want to make that crystal clear. Any assertion that we\u2019re not is simply wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

State Sen. Akilah Weber-Pierson, chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus, emphasized the stakes for Black Californians. She highlighted the Trump administration\u2019s attacks on Black communities, health care, housing, education, and economic opportunity.<\/p>\n

Weber-Pierson stressed the importance of voting in favor of the proposition. \u201cProposition 50 ensures that when Black voters go to the poll, our voice counts and our voices are heard,\u201d she said. \u201cOur elders and our ancestors fought too long and too hard for representation to be taken away now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, California is the firewall protecting our communities from the worst of Trump\u2019s attacks. This is our moment to stand up and fight back, and Proposition 50 is our weapon.\u201d<\/p>\n

She warned that if redistricting led to a Republican midterm victory, \u201cwe will lose access to medical care, our hospitals in our communities will close, labor and delivery units will become unreachable, and the health disparities that impact the Black community will worsen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a practicing physician, I cannot underscore the harm that will come as a result of what Trump has done and is doing to our Medi-Cal system,\u201d Weber-Pierson said.<\/p>\n

Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Los Angeles, and whip of the Congressional Black Caucus, noted that Trump and his administration have been \u201cuber-aggressive\u201d toward Black Americans, particularly Black women, targeting DEI programs, erasing contributions from history, and cutting programs such as Medi-Cal, Medicaid, Medicare, WIC, and SNAP.<\/p>\n

Kamlager-Dove framed Prop 50 as both a defensive and offensive measure. \u201cWe are fighting fire with fire,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Oakland Rep. Lateefah Simon emphasized the historical context, highlighting past efforts to suppress Black political representation and the importance of California leading the fight now.<\/p>\n

The Protect Voters First Coalition is a California-based group that opposes Proposition 50. It\u2019s primarily funded by Charles T. Munger Jr., a physicist and prominent donor from Palo Alto.<\/p>\n

The group argues that the measure was written by politicians to benefit themselves and contends that it would dismantle existing safeguards for fair elections, remove requirements to keep communities together, and eliminate protections that prevent maps from being drawn to favor political parties.<\/p>\n

Coalition leader Jeanne Raya, an executive for an insurance agency in San Gabriel and former chair of California\u2019s first Citizens Redistricting Commission, said the campaign for a \u201cyes\u201d vote is misleading.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s misleading to the people who think that it\u2019s temporary and that politicians are not going to see the value in holding on to the power that they are going to have for the next five years,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Fabian Valdez Jr., an information strategist who\u2019s also a coalition member, added, \u201cThe \u2018yes\u2019 side has not done any presentation about maps. They just say that it\u2019s about Trump. I understand that, but they are not talking about what the maps are doing and how they are splitting communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bishop Dwight Earl Williams of Stockton, founder and president of New Genesis Outreach, expressed concern the initiative could divide communities and weaken representation. Williams thinks the proposed map could divide San Joaquin County into as many as five congressional districts from its current two.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur concern is quite frankly this, here in the San Joaquin County area, where we are based, we have built a strong consensus across many stakeholders throughout the area,\u201d Williams told California Black Media.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The proposed map does not divide San Joaquin County into five districts. The county would mostly lie within District 9 with a small portion in District 13.<\/p>\n

\"ProposedProposed congressional map shows two districts covering San Joaquin County. Some Prop 50 opponents believe the county would be divided into as many as five districts. Redistricting Partners<\/a><\/p>\n

Paul Mitchell, owner of Redistricting Partners and a data consultant based in Sacramento, said his firm was brought in and created the proposed map for Prop 50.<\/p>\n

He said his team prioritized protecting the core interests of Black communities, which were for the most part, he said, \u201ckept intact from the commission process.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mitchell said preserving three Black districts, two in L.A. and one in Oakland, was foremost. \u201cKeeping those three seats completely untouched was goal number one, and that\u2019s probably 90% of what was important for the Black community was preserving those districts,\u201d he said. \u201cI think all the communities benefit from the outcome of the plan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under Proposition 50\u2019s proposed redistricting, Sacramento\u2019s three congressional districts would be reshaped in ways that could change who holds political power \u2014 and how Black communities are represented.\u00a0<\/p>\n

District 3 would pull in more of the suburbs, including Arden and Rancho Cordova, while shedding some of its rural foothill areas. Mitchell said this would make the district more competitive, describing it as \u201ca 10-point Kamala Harris district\u201d that leans Democratic but includes a mix of city and mountain voters. Former state Sen. Richard Pan, a Democrat and longtime Sacramento physician, already has announced his campaign for the new District 3 seat, signaling an early contest for what could become a key swing district.<\/p>\n

The 6th District would focus more tightly on the city of Sacramento, uniting many urban neighborhoods and strengthening its Democratic base. The 7th District would stretch farther south into Elk Grove and east toward Amador County, combining suburban and rural communities.<\/p>\n

Mitchell noted that Black neighborhoods would remain divided between districts, just along new lines. The Oak Park\/UC Davis Medical Center area would stay in one district, while Fruitridge would be joined with Arden.<\/p>\n

For many Black voters, the new boundaries could mean that while representation may still be split, the political influence of Sacramento\u2019s core neighborhoods could grow \u2014 helping ensure that whoever wins will need to speak to the priorities of the city\u2019s historic Black communities. \u201cSo the district will elect somebody who\u2019s the candidate of choice from the Sacramento footprint, even though the district goes way out there,\u201d Mitchell said.<\/p>\n

Mitchell also addressed concerns that the measure could become permanent. The ballot measure temporarily overrides the sections of the state constitution establishing the Independent Redistricting Commission for 2026, 2028, and 2030, but the commission will return in the 2031 .\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only way to have this happen in 2032 would be a brand new ballot measure,\u201d he said. Creating another constitutional amendment would require a massive campaign effort and expense. \u201cYou\u2019d have to spend another $100 million on a campaign,\u201d Mitchell added, noting that the difficulty and cost serve as a disincentive to repeat the process. He also said polling shows voters continue to strongly favor the independent commission.<\/p>\n

The Public Policy Institute of California evaluated Proposition 50\u2019s proposed map by examining its impact on racial and geographic representation. The California Citizens Redistricting Commission\u2019s current congressional plan had to comply with the federal Voting Rights Act, which includes drawing districts for voters of color in which they would have enough to form a majority in a single area. Latinos are currently the only group meeting that threshold in California, with 16 majority-Latino districts \u2014 unchanged under the Prop 50 plan. Neither Black nor Asian Californians have a majority district in either plan.<\/p>\n

The Prop 50 map largely mirrors the redistricting commission\u2019s existing plan when it comes to districts where racial and ethnic groups can exert electoral influence. Using 30% as the threshold for influence, the current plan includes six Asian American, two Black, and seven Latino districts; Prop 50 would add one more Latino-influence district but otherwise replicates the status quo.<\/p>\n

The institute\u2019s analysts noted that Prop 50\u2019s primary objective is to create more Democratic seats, but on the dimensions that the redistricting commission is required to consider \u2014 racial representation, influence of communities of color, and geographic integrity \u2014 the proposed plan closely mirrors the existing map.<\/p>\n

Sacramento State Professor Christopher Towler said recent national polling suggests Black voters may not be fully aware of the measure. \u201cThere is this thought that this is something that everyone knows about, but the data out there, even this national sample suggests that it\u2019s relatively unknown.\u201d<\/p>\n

He explained that just 18% of Black respondents supported redistricting, compared with 24% of white respondents, while most said they didn\u2019t know enough to form an opinion.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Towler said a UC Berkeley poll found that Black Californians\u2019 opinions on Prop 50 remain fluid. Forty-three percent said they would vote in favor, 27% said \u201cno,\u201d and 28% were undecided. For white Californians, 52% said they supported Prop 50, 37% were against, and only 11% were undecided.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s still a segment of the Black population that just either doesn\u2019t know or hasn\u2019t made up their mind yet,\u201d Towler said. \u201cSo the story that\u2019s being told is going to be really important going forward.<\/p>\n

Regarding claims that redistricting will break up Black districts and dilute Black voting power, Towler hasn\u2019t looked at the lines but said, \u201cIt is kind of ironic that concern is coming from a political movement that\u2019s shown little interest in Black voters before. It seems a little suspect that all of a sudden they are concerned about Black voting power being diluted.\u201d<\/p>\n

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