Democratic voters say California's Prop 50 gives them a way to 'counteract' Trump

Source: NPR

November 3, 2025 5:00 AM ET


LOS ANGELES — Adelaide Stone Van Gessel says she doesn't agree with partisan gerrymandering in practice. But she voted yes on Proposition 50, a California ballot measure that would allow the state's Democratic leaders to temporarily bypass California's independent redistricting commission and enact a more Democratic-friendly congressional map ahead of next year's midterm elections.

Van Gessel and others who back Prop 50 told NPR the proposal provides the Democratic-leaning state a rare opportunity to directly counteract President Trump and Republican efforts to redraw political maps in their favor in other states. "What we're doing is gerrymandering to stop gerrymandering," she said. "And that's not really the best solution, but it is something that we find ourselves in this kind of environment having to do."

Voting for the one-issue special election concludes Tuesday, with polling showing that Prop 50 is likely to pass. If it does, California's Democratic state leaders can use a new congressional map that makes five U.S. House seats more favorable to the party, offsetting the five districts Republicans shifted their direction in Texas earlier this year. GOP lawmakers in Missouri and North Carolina have also enacted new maps, and a bipartisan deal reached last week in Ohio tilts that state's congressional map further to the right. Lawmakers in other states, including Virginia Democrats, could join the redistricting fight.

In Southern California, many left-leaning voters approving Prop 50 reported having mixed feelings about the measure, but ultimately felt that allowing a partisan gerrymander is one of the only options they have to stop Trump from shutting out a Democratic win in Congress next year. "We can't play the game like decent people anymore," said Stephanie Eberstein, who, like Van Gessel, lives in the liberal LA neighborhood of Venice. "I mean, those rules are out the window. So, we have to do what we have to do."

Read more: https://www.npr.org/2025/11/03/g-s1-96207/california-redistricting-prop-50-trump