California voters weigh in on Proposition 50 redistricting measure

CHICO, Calif. – Voting began this week for a statewide special election that would dramatically change California’s congressional map. Proposition 50, or Prop 50, could add up to five Democratic-held seats in Congress in time for the 2026 midterms.

The measure asks California voters to temporarily allow the Legislature to decide the state’s district maps until 2030, after which power would return to the independent California Citizens Redistricting Commission. If Proposition 50 wins, it could leave just four Republican seats statewide after 2026.

A recent poll shows that Proposition 50 will likely pass. Gov. Gavin Newsom and California Democrats say Proposition 50 is a necessary countermeasure to Republican-led redistricting efforts in Texas.

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The entrance to California State University, Chico. (Amalia Roy)

However, UC Davis Professor Jim Adams warned that a short-term Democratic victory could have negative long-term consequences.

“I think that even though Proposition 50 helps the Democrats win a handful of additional seats in California, by winning the battle in California, the Democrats could lose themselves the war nationally,” Adams told Fox.

Adams, a Democrat, said he agreed with Prop 50 supporters that he wanted something done to curb Republican redistricting efforts in other parts of the country.

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“There is certainly a visceral satisfaction for Democrats in feeling that Proposition 50 helps them fight back. I have no doubt that Democrats need to fight back. The question is whether they are fighting intelligently with Proposition 50,” he added.

Proposition 50 has the potential to spark a political backlash, not just among California Republicans or independents in 2026, but nationally in the 2028 presidential election.

If Proposition 50 passes, districts in Northern California are likely to flip from red to blue after the midterm elections.

Downtown Chico, California. (Amalia Roy)

Chico, California sits in Republican-held District 1, represented by Rep. Doug LaMalfa. It is one of the districts targeted in Proposition 50. The proposed map would likely flip the district by attracting voters closer to the more Democratic Bay Area.

In 2024, President Donald Trump won Butte County by about 3,000 votes over then-Vice President Kamala Harris. On the streets of downtown Chico, this political divide was on display when voters were asked what they thought of Proposition 50.

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Don Tarman and Martin Bettencourt both said they supported the proposal, adding that it was a reaction to Trump’s presidency.

“We agree with Gavin Newsom that Trump is trying to influence the House election. He supposedly received five votes in Texas. We’ll see how the vote goes when we get to the election. But yeah, we’re not Trump fans. I think Gavin Newsom is trying to fight back a little bit,” Tarman said.

Bettencourt said he doesn’t generally support redistricting, but that it’s “a different time.”

“I don’t like redistricting. I think it’s mean to the voters. I think it’s taking power away from them, because they’re moving it around and adjusting it,” he said. “I think we live in different times, so we respond first, which is the president, and we have to do what we have to do to compensate for that until we have someone better in a position of power.”

A ballot box located outside the Butte County Library, Chico Branch. (Amalia Roy)

Jim Henderson and Eleanor Engelbrecht are among those who disagree with the proposal — both saying California redistricting is not an ideal response to efforts in Texas.

“When they say they’re doing it in Iowa, then should we ask Oregon to do the same thing and the next thing you know it’s all gerrymandered? It’s unfortunate that the governor of Texas didn’t recognize that this was not an appropriate way to run elections, but he made his decision, and I don’t think we should feel obligated to say, well, if you want to do it, we’ll do it too,” Henderson said.

Engelbrecht said the country is going through enough changes and things just need to “settle down.”

“Right now, we’re already going through a lot of change, and I don’t think this is the time where we need to, I don’t know, really dust and clean up. I think we really need to let things settle. I think where our country is right now, there’s already a lot of division, and I think it really comes down to standing up for fair elections,” she said.

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If Proposition 50 passes, there will likely be a legal battle. California Republicans are already filing lawsuits against the measure.