Prop. 50 is all about Trump vs. California

In a CNN poll, about half say their vote on redistricting is a way to oppose president.

- BY HANNAH FRY, ALEX WIGGLESWORTH AND JENNY JARVIE

VOTERS line up in Santa Ana on Tuesday. More than 6.3 million Californians had cast ballots as of Monday, according to a voting tracker.

(ALLEN J. SCHABEN Los Angeles Times)

California voters went to the polls Tuesday to decide on a radical redistricting plan with national implications, but the campaign is shaping up to be a referendum on President Trump.

Proposition 50, a ballot measure about redrawing the state's congressional districts, was crafted by Democrats in response to Trump urging Texas and other GOP-majority states to modify their congressional maps to favor Republicans, a move that was designed to maintain Republican control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Opponents have said Proposition 50 is a power grab by Democrats that would blatantly disenfranchise Republican voters.

But supporters, fueled by a huge war chest in deep blue California, managed to make the vote about Trump and what they say are his efforts to erode democracy.

The president has never been popular in California, but unprecedented months of immigration raids, tariffs and environmental rollbacks have only heightened the conflict.

“Trump is such a polarizing figure,” said Rick Hasen, a professor of law and political science at UCLA. “He commands great loyalty from one group of people and great animosity from others. ... It’s not surprising that this measure has been portrayed as sticking it to Donald Trump or [California Gov.] Gavin Newsom.”

ACNN exit poll of California voters found that about half said their vote on Proposition 50 was a way of opposing Trump.