Your up-to-the-minute guide to Proposition 50: Redistricting in California

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The basics

Proposition 50 would change the way California determines congressional district boundaries. The measure asks voters to approve new congressional district lines designed to favor Democrats for the 2026, 2028 and 2030 elections, overturning the map drawn by the state's independent, nonpartisan redistricting commission.

Impact

If voters approve Proposition 50, Golden State Democrats would see the odds tip even further in their favor, while the number of Republicans representing California in Washington, D.C., could be cut in half.

Background

With a push from Gov. Gavin Newsom, Democrats in the state Legislature placed Proposition 50 on the California ballot on Nov. 4 after the Texas Republican Party began discussing a new map that would help elect five more Republicans to Congress. The GOP controls the House by such a narrow margin that any changes to state maps could have an effect on the balance of power in Washington.

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taking sides

Broadly speaking, Proposition 50 is marked by a partisan divide.

Some supporters say they will vote for redistricting even if they don't like it. Instead, they blame Republicans in Texas and elsewhere for rigging the election to help the GOP. If California did not respond, Republicans would have their way and stack the congressional electoral map in their favor. Proposition 50 has the support of top Democrats across the country, led by Newsom.

Supporters:

“Republicans want to steal enough seats in Congress to rig the next election and wield unchecked power for two more years. With Proposition 50, Republicans can be stopped in their tracks. Proposition 50 puts our elections back on a level playing field, preserves independent redistricting for the long term, and lets the people decide. Return your vote today.”

-Barack Obama

Opponents

“They're trying to fight for democracy by getting rid of California's democratic principles. It's crazy to allow that to happen… They want to dismantle this independent commission. They want to get rid of it under the auspices of we have to fight Trump. It doesn't make any sense to me because we have to fight Trump.” [yet] “We became Trump.”

—Arnold Schwarzenegger

Orange County Registry: “Proposition 50 scraps the congressional maps drawn by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission in favor of maps drawn by and for the benefit of politicians. In a healthy democracy, you want voters to be the ones who choose their politicians. With Proposition 50, politicians choose their voters.”

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Illustration for the 2022 electoral guide (Nicole Vas / Los Angeles Times)

(Nicole Vas/Los Angeles Times)

race status

Center

Polls have shown Proposition 50 leading comfortably.

• Six in 10 likely voters support Proposition 50, according to a poll by the UC Berkeley Institute of Government Studies co-sponsored by The Times. About 38% of likely voters oppose the ballot measure.
• According to the poll, the breakdown among voters was highly partisan: More than 9 in 10 Democrats supported Proposition 50 and a similar share of Republicans opposed it. Among voters who belong to other parties, or who identify as “no party preference,” 57% favored the ballot measure, while 39% opposed it.
• In the voter-rich urban areas of Los Angeles County and the San Francisco Bay Area, Proposition 50 led by wide margins, according to the poll. Voters in Orange County, the Inland Empire and the Central Valley were fairly evenly divided.

Fundraising

Records show pro-Prop 50 forces have raised far more money than critics.

• Gov. Gavin Newsom's committee supporting the redistricting measure raised $36.8 million between Sept. 21 and Oct. 18, bringing its total to $114.3 million, as of last Thursday.
• The two main opposition groups raised a total of $8.4 million during the 28 days covered by the fundraising period, bringing their total haul to $43.7 million.