How Prop. 50's redistricting could shift political power

Proposition 50 is part of a spiraling national fight over redistricting, instigated by President Trump, that could determine the balance of power in the U.S. House of Representatives after the 2026 election.

- LAURA J. NELSON

REPS. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), left, and Ken Calvert (R-Corona) at a June hearing. Redistricting battles over congressional control loom.

Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democrats in the state Legislature put Proposition 50 on California's Nov. 4 ballot after the Texas GOP began discussing a new map that would help elect five more Republicans to Congress.

The Republican Party holds the House by such a slim margin that any changes to state maps could have an effect on the balance of power in Washington.

Proposition 50 would depart from how California determines the boundaries of congressional districts. The measure asks voters to approve new congressional district lines designed to favor Democrats for the 2026, 2028 and 2030 elections, overriding the map drawn by the state's nonpartisan, independent redistricting commission.

If voters approve Proposition 50, Golden State Democrats would see the odds tilted further in their favor, while the number of Republicans California in Washington, D.C., could be reduced by half.

What will the measure do?

Proposition 50 would mark a sudden departure from California's 15-year commitment to independent redistricting, often held up as the country's gold standard.

During the Great Recession, California voters stripped state lawmakers of the power to draw the lines, and handed that power to a panel of 14 citizens.

The panel works to create districts for state lawmakers and for members of Congress that are contiguous and roughly equal in population. The districts must also follow the federal Voting Rights Act and group together "communities of interest," a wide-reaching term of art for people who share languages, cultures, backgrounds, interests, ways of life or other traits.