Proposition 50 passed Tuesday evening with a 63.8% majority at the time of publication, and will be certified on Dec. 12. This statewide special election’s sole ballot measure will temporarily redraw California’s congressional districts from 2026-2030 as a countermeasure to Texas’ recent redistricting bill.
Nov. 4 was the last day to vote in the California special election, with polling places closing statewide at 8 p.m. The highly divisive ballot measure, spearheaded by Gov. Gavin Newsom, passed in preliminary results with 84% voting yes in San Francisco County.
Jason McDaniel, a political science professor at San Francisco State University, said the proposition will affect Republican-leaning Bay Area districts by making it more difficult for Republican representatives to be re-elected in the upcoming midterms.
While McDaniel is voting in favor of this measure, he said, “it’s not great that this is happening,” considering the proposition will allow the state legislature, rather than the independent California Citizens Redistricting Commission, to redraw the map.
“Independent commissions are pretty good things. There’s some flaws there, but they’re pretty good,” McDaniel said. “I think the voters in California like them overall and are supportive of them. So the fact that Democrats are doing this is going to be potentially problematic for their brand in California.”
Hayden Sidun, a political science and international relations student, voted against the proposition, despite previously working for the Democratic Party and organizations.
“I think gerrymandering is one of the most corrupt and anti democratic practices there is,” Sidun said. “I don’t think that we’re any better than Texas or North Carolina or any of those red states by doing it ourselves.”
Rosa Vidal, a child development student, said she is voting for her family who cannot vote. She expressed her frustration with the current administration and how she hopes voting in this election will change things.
“I also hope there’s a lot of communities that start feeling safer here because it was once a place where we had a dream, but now it’s crushed,” Vidal said. “Lots of Hispanic families are hiding from ICE enforcement and all that.”
The night before the election, the SFSU Political Science Students Association and the San Francisco Young Democrats hosted an informational session and discussion for students in the political science lounge. Khloe Ollison, co-president of SFYD, and SFYD’s SFSU leader Chase Preston led the event.
“Prop 50 is a way to make sure we keep the elections fair and make sure next November we can put a check on this White House because four years of this administration going unchecked is going to be extremely bad,” Preston said. “Extreme circumstances require extreme measures.”
The overall messaging of the event from SFYD representatives supported the measure but encouraged discourse among the group. The students who attended provided a mix of opinions towards the proposition and the Democratic Party as a whole.
“This is why Prop 50 is important, because it opens that pathway for us to be able to hold you accountable,” Ollison said. “We can’t hold any of the Democrats accountable, we can’t hold people accountable if we can’t get them voted in.”
Democrats also took wins in the three other major elections this year, including the New Jersey and Virginia governor races and the New York City mayoral race. Newsom held a press conference after California’s special election results came in.
“It was not just a victory tonight for the Democratic Party. It was a victory for the United States of America, for the people of this country, the principles that our Founding Fathers lived and died for,” Newsom said. “We’re proud here in California to be a part of this narrative.”
Sidun said that he doesn’t think Proposition 50 is “the answer” to what Democrats are looking for.
“Gavin Newsom and California Democrats will be equally responsible for the downfall of American democracy as Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans,” Sidun said.
