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2h ago

California Opens Voting on Prop. 50 to Temporarily Replace Congressional Maps

The outcome could influence which party controls the U.S. House in 2026.

Governor of California Gavin Newsom speaks during the Clinton Global Initiative on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)
A sample ballot is pictured before early voting starts in California's statewide special election, Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Los Angeles.
Gov. Gavin Newsom and California Democrats are pushing Prop 50, also known as the Election Rigging Response Act, in response to a "Republican power grab orchestrated by President Trump and state leaders in Texas, who redrew Congressional district lines to gain five more seats in the U.S. House of Representatives."(MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ/AP)
A woman walking to a polling center in Provo, Utah, on November 6, 2018. A Utah state representative has been accused of trying to "steal" an election after his bid to remove Governor Spencer Cox from office failed.

Overview

  • Mail ballots are going to all registered voters, ballot drop-off sites and vote centers are open in parts of the state, and the special election concludes Nov. 4.
  • Prop. 50 would pause the Citizens Redistricting Commission’s lines and use legislature-drawn districts for 2026, 2028 and 2030 before reverting to the commission after the 2030 census.
  • Backers say the move counters mid-decade GOP remaps in Texas and elsewhere designed to add up to five Republican seats, while opponents call it a partisan power grab costing roughly $250–$280 million.
  • If approved, the plan could shift up to five California seats toward Democrats and shape the House majority, as a federal panel reviews Texas’ new map and President Trump says the DOJ will sue to challenge Prop. 50.
  • Public polls show a plurality or slim majority support, and the race has drawn tens of millions of dollars and prominent voices, with Barack Obama in support and Arnold Schwarzenegger opposed, plus $5 million to opponents from the Congressional Leadership Fund.