Why California’s Proposition 50 is in Practice Good But in Theory Bad

By: Karli Oppenheimer

I will be the first to share my excitement over the passage of Proposition 50 earlier this month. However, it is not without hesitation that I celebrate this success for Democrats across the state.

Promoting and enabling the manipulation of districts is a slippery slope to go down, and sets a dangerous principle for the future of our nation’s democracy, regardless of political party.

According to the constitution, redistricting should occur every 10 years after the release of a new U.S. census.

That being said, the specificities behind redistricting laws vary from state to state. In California, districts are drawn by an independent redistricting commission, not by the legislature.

Prop 50 calls for the use of newly drawn congressional district maps across California through 2030. This proposition reallocates the responsibility of redistricting to the state, which will be reversed in 2031 when the California Citizens Redistricting Commission resumes their role.

The Justice Department has since filed a lawsuit against Governor Gavin Newsom for unlawful redistricting efforts that prioritized Latino demographics.

This redistricting effort, named the Election Rigging Response Act, was created as a response to Texas’s manipulation of voting districts endorsed by President Trump to secure the Republican vote in the historically red state.

The question becomes a matter of morality, an eye for an eye. If the response to election rigging is to manipulate an equal share of votes for the opposing party, does the democratic objective get lost along the way?

If the end goal is to put a stop to election rigging and gerrymandering altogether, the solution must protect voters from exploitation, not further subject them to it.

Understandably, this effort is a last resort among Democrats to ensure the protection of democracy nationally.

It also, in principle, backdates California’s own civic progress.

Currently, California is one of eight states with an independent voting commission, with the remainder relying on the state legislature to draw their district maps for them.

In California, the commission is made up of a collection of bipartisan citizens, to limit influence by party members or incumbents.

Through the next several years, the state has given up this formality, granting redistricting efforts back to the legislature.

Newsom claims to have citizens' best interest in mind, but only time will tell how these measures will play out in terms of voter representation.

After a disappointing election last year, Democrats were successful in races outside of just California this November.

As Dems gain traction for the first time in recent years, it is pressing they remain strategic and act with integrity to ensure all individuals have a voice, and a vote, that matters.

Bibliography

https://bipartisanpolicy.org/explainer/redistricting-and-gerrymandering-what-to-know/

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-sues-governor-gavin-newsom-californias-race-based-redistricting-plan