BAKERSFIELD, Calif. \u2014 With Election Day here, volunteers on both sides of Proposition 50 are knocking on doors and phone-banking across Bakersfield, hoping to boost turnout in one of California\u2019s most closely watched districts.<\/p>\n
What You Need To Know<\/p>\n
Proposition 50 would allow mid-decade redistricting in California, potentially adding up to six Democratic-leaning seats in Congress
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Supporters say the measure protects California\u2019s voice in Washington after Texas redrew its map to benefit Republicans
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Opponents call Proposition 50 a constitutional overreach and say it\u2019s a partisan power grab
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Kern County \u2014 home to CA-22 and Rep. David Valadao \u2014 is a battleground district where turnout could shape the balance of power<\/p>\n
California\u2019s 22nd Congressional District \u2014 represented by Republican David Valadao \u2014 could be significantly reshaped if Proposition 50 passes.<\/p>\n
The measure would allow California to redraw its congressional maps in the middle of the decade, a response from Gov. Gavin Newsom to a recent Texas redistricting effort expected to benefit Republicans in the U.S. House.<\/p>\n
Supporters point to rising costs and political frustration as motivation for change.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are ready for change,\u201d said Noe Garcia, with the Kern County Young Democrats. \u201cFolks are feeling the effects of this Republican administration \u2014 rising grocery prices, rising gas prices. Our economy is not getting any better for working-class people. This proposition will show that voters here are ready.\u201d<\/p>\n
Opponents argue Proposition 50 undermines California\u2019s constitution and sets a dangerous precedent.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we\u2019re willing to suspend the state constitution for something like this… what stops the governor and the legislature from suspending it on other issues?\u201d said Matthew Martin, chair of the Kern County Young Republicans. \u201cThe answer is nothing. It\u2019s the wrong thing to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Valadao holds the most Democratic-leaning district represented by a Republican in the nation. A mid-cycle redraw could make the district even more favorable for Democrats.<\/p>\n
Republicans acknowledge the challenge ahead.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven though Valadao has been able to hold on… it\u2019s going to be very, very difficult,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\n
Despite the political battle, both sides say the message they\u2019re pushing to voters is the same: show up to the polls.<\/p>\n
In canvassing conversations and phone calls all weekend, volunteers stressed the importance of turning in ballots \u2014 not only for this election, but ahead of next November\u2019s midterms as well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BAKERSFIELD, Calif. \u2014 With Election Day here, volunteers on both sides of Proposition 50 are knocking on doors…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":38490,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[26528,5997,151,153,152,7,16627,13,5999,5996],"class_list":{"0":"post-38489","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bakersfield","8":"tag-anna-albaryan","9":"tag-app-local-state-politics","10":"tag-bakersfield","11":"tag-bakersfield-headlines","12":"tag-bakersfield-news","13":"tag-california","14":"tag-california-prop-50","15":"tag-politics","16":"tag-socal-what-you-need-to-know","17":"tag-vod"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38489","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38489"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38489\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38490"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}