"There are many ways to characterize Proposition 50, the single ballot initiative that Californians will be voting on this election season. You could say it's about redrawing congressional district lines outside the regular once-a-decade schedule. You could say, more precisely, that it's about counterbalancing Republican efforts to engineer congressional seats in their favor in Texas and elsewhere with a gerrymander that favors the Democrats."
"The way California's governor, Gavin Newsom, and the Democrats are selling it to voters, though, boils down to something much simpler and more visceral: it's an invitation to raise a middle finger to Donald Trump, a president fewer than 40% of Californians voted for and many loathe for reasons that extend far beyond his attempts at election manipulation. For that reason alone, the yes campaign believes it is cruising to an easy victory."
"Proposition 50, also known as the Election Rigging Response Act, proposes amending the California constitution and suspending the work of the state's independent redistricting commission until 2031 so the Democrats can carve out five additional safe seats. That wouldn't significantly change the power balance in California, since Democrats already occupy 43 of the state's 52 House seats. But it would compensate for the five seats that Texas Republicans, acting on Trump's direct urging, wrested for themselves earlier this year."
Proposition 50 seeks to amend the California constitution and suspend the independent redistricting commission until 2031, enabling Democrats to create five additional congressional safe seats. Supporters present the measure as retaliation for Republican-led redistricting in Texas that gained five seats with Trump's encouragement. Opponents label it a partisan power grab that could undermine fifteen years of reforms aimed at making congressional elections fairer and more competitive. Democrats already hold 43 of California's 52 House seats, so the change would not drastically shift state power but would offset Republican gains elsewhere.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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