A Special Election is held throughout California on Prop 50 on November 4th, an election influenced heavily by the actions of Texas and shifting National and State agendas.  Understanding Prop 50 has become incredibly important in the modern world, and its result will have major effects on current politics and the 2026 midterms.

By Tara Rennie – 9th grade.

Over $26 million has been spent on ads trying to change California’s opinion on redistricting and “Prop 50”, an unprecedented amount in California’s history. This issue has become so great, even former US President Barack Obama has appeared in political ads on a Proposition solely impacting California. So why has this California initiative become so important?

Simply put, the Democrats are trying to get more seats in the House during the Midterm Elections. For this reason, an election will be held on November 4th throughout the state of California on “Proposition 50”, or “Prop 50”. 22.9 million Californians will be able to vote “yes” or “no” to temporarily return the right to redistrict to the government. As of 2008, redistricting has been controlled by an independent Citizen’s Redistricting Commission in order to prevent partisan bias when creating districts. Governor Newsom and the Democrats have been feverously campaigning to reverse that, in order to create districts that heavily favour the Democrats, possibly putting more Democrats in the House in 2026. 

This comes as a direct response to Governor Abbott’s recent redistricting in Texas to favour the Republican Party, as well as  current White House’s policies, with Prof. Dan Schnur at USC stating that “Democrats are trying to frame this as a Proposition against Trump”. Now, with the election less than a week out and both sides still vigorously trying to sway the vote, understanding the origin and effects of Prop 50 has become key to modern California, and even National, politics.

California vs. Texas

Redistricting, or specifically gerrymandering (redistricting in such a way to purposely favour a political party or group), has been a part of US politics for centuries. While the Federal government has never passed legislation to minimize gerrymandering, fifteen states have adopted measures to try to create a fair process, one of which is California. Should Prop 50 pass, however, California would temporarily remove the restrictions on redistricting, and the government could freely gerrymander to send more Democrats to Congress than accurately reflects the people in the State. However, supporters of the Proposition argue that Congress has already been skewed by Texas’s redistricting, and by doing the same in California it would simply offset Texas’s actions.

Legislation like Prop 50 isn’t the norm though, as throughout its 175 year history as a state, California has very rarely responded directly to another state’s legislature and, according to Dan Schnur, “when they do, it’s usually done at a symbolic level rather than for a substantive reason.” This is hardly the case here, with Prop 50’s intention being to counterbalance the redistricting done in Texas, and to ensure Congress doesn’t swing further to the right, an issue that resonates deeply with many Californians, as the state is strongly Democratic. With Texas containing 38 representatives and California 52, the seats gained in these two states would make a significant impact on the House and could expand or diminish Trump’s legislative agenda.

So why is California responding to Texas in this manner? Aside from the clear political differences between the two states (with California leaning heavily Democratic and Texas leaning heavily Republican), and that both states are one of the largest in the country, Dan Schnur continued that there was also “a growing economic and cultural competition between the two states”, leading to “an increased animosity”. Further, both states are beginning to believe that for one to succeed it has to come at the other’s expense. While often not the case, in terms of redistricting there is a clear “winner” or “loser” as either the Republicans or Democrats will take back the House, thus being beneficial to either Texas or California.

Newsom, likely candidate in 2028

It’s clear why it’s Texas that Governor Newsom is going against, but California Democrats have been on average against the redistricting rules since their passage in 2008, yet only now are trying to reverse it. Texas is only part of this reason, as States have redistricted in the past. Across the country there has been a clear shift towards the right, with the White House, Senate and House all in Republican control. While the government being unified like this is not uncommon, the Republican party themselves have shifted further to the right, while moderates are decreasing across the board. Supporters of Prop 50 have been painting the Proposition as a Proposition against President Trump, hoping in that way to convince voters who worry about the heavily polarised country and want more diversity in Congress.

On the whole, while unprecedented, there were clear suggestions that something like Prop 50 was going to happen after Texas’s gerrymandering, and even after the Republicans won the House last November. With Governor Newsom likely to run for President in 2028, it has also helped to put California politics, and with that the Governor, onto the main stage. All in all though, while Proposition 50 will become a staple in California’s political history, Dan Schnur remarked finally that, after the midterms, it will become barely “a footnote” in the broader scope of the nation.