The rationale and concept behind California’s Proposition 50 is quite frankly ludicrous and undemocratic, and it speaks to a much deeper and pressing issue facing our country. Our country is slowly losing the basic values and principles that create a democracy.
California’s Prop 50 passed Nov. 4, and it was one of many sweeping victories for Democrats across the nation on Election Day.
What is Proposition 50?
Prop 50 is gerrymandering plain and simple, which is manipulating political districts in favor of a political party. California will now redraw its congressional districts ahead of the midterm elections in 2026 to give itself five additional seats.
The reason behind California’s Prop 50 is to respond to gerrymandering that occurred in Texas earlier this year. In August, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law a new congressional map for the state. The map will give Republicans five more seats in Congress. California came up with a map that would give Democrats five more seats in Congress in response.
What is lost in all of this? Democracy. Everyone’s vote is supposed to matter, not be a pawn in the agenda of a national party with their own interests in mind.
Early polling for Prop 50 showed that only 33% of Californians supported the redistricting ballot measure. Rightfully so, it seems Californians were skeptical of such a blatant attempt to gerrymander the state’s districts.
The measure ended up passing thanks to the endorsement and campaigning of California Governor Gavin Newsom for Prop 50. In fact, the measure eventually passed by a nearly 30-point margin with 64.6% voting yes on the measure and 35.4% voting no. The support for the measure doubled within the span of several months.
Why Prop 50 passing matters
Political representatives are meant to represent the interests of the districts they represent, not to help a political party move the needle in Washington D.C. The purpose of representative democracy is to reflect the will of the people, not to settle a score or retaliate politically.
Gerrymandering is always wrong, whether or not the intention is to level the playing field nationally or not.
Two wrongs, unfortunately, do not make a right, especially politically. Initially, Californians seemed to agree, but in the end, Californians were convinced otherwise.
An eye for an eye makes the world go blind, and that is what is so troubling about Prop 50 and what it says about where we are as a country.
It is telling that the longest government shutdown of all time just occurred, and the reason it happened is because, as a country, we have lost the ability to work with our political opponents. Both sides would rather point fingers and blame the other side for anything and everything rather than work together.
Democracy requires individuals with different views working together to create a better America.
As a country, we are no longer trying to find common ground or attempting to have meaningful civil discourse about our disagreements. Say what you will about Charlie Kirk, but he was killed while attempting to have civil discourse at universities across the country. This is yet another example of where our country is headed.
Texas Republicans gerrymandering the districts in their state is wrong, but so is California doing the same thing.
The California Democratic Party website explicitly states:
Representation is no longer the goal. The goal is to make sure that “our side” wins. Fairness is no longer the goal. Prop 50 passing sends the message that the ends always justify the means. Democracy hangs in the balance if both sides of our political dichotomy keep fighting like petulant toddlers constantly trying to one-up each other.
If both sides embrace gerrymandering as a political weapon, our democracy as a whole will crumble. Voters will no longer be picking their representatives, but rather representatives will be picking their voters. That is a system that is engineered to manipulate voters under the guise of “fairness.”
Moving forward
Retaliatory gerrymandering is not and will never be the answer. Retaliation is not what is needed, but rather reform. Transparency and bipartisan oversight are essential to maintain our democracy. We need to restore trust in our government.
As a country, we the people are the ones that need to restore trust in our democracy through voting, protesting, petitioning and ensuring that our country course corrects. We the people are America’s democracy.
Citizens need to make their local and state governments stronger through participation and by electing good candidates who are honest community leaders. They will certainly make an impact at both local and state levels for the better.
Prop 50 reveals a problem our democracy is facing; it is not the solution to it. We need strong leaders who make tough, fair decisions that prioritize democracy.
