You're voting in a rigged game.That's why Prop 50 matters.

I WAS NOT EXPECTING a midcycle redistricting, nor did I expect the process to capture headlines and infiltrate conversations in the spaces it has. Streamers, podcasters and legacy media alike are sharing their views on the growing Texas vs.

- 

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM kicked off the "Yes on 50" campaign at the California Democratic Party Headquarters last month.

California tug of war for congressional seats, a fight that might eventually spill over into New York, Ohio, Indiana, Florida, Utah and more. We live in the illusion of a democracy, and what we are watching is another play for power.

Once the 2020 California Redistricting Commission completed its task in December 2021, I imagined a quiet eight years to finish my term. Creating these maps with five Republicans, five Democrats and four fellow commissioners unaffiliated with either party was a grueling duty set against the first pandemic in a century. Now, the maps have been sent back to the drawing board and the populace continues to become entrenched in information and misinformation about what redistricting is, why it happens and what implications arise from this process happening mid-cycle.

Gerrymandering isn't new.

States legislatures across the country have held the power to draw these controversial lines for decades including in California until 2010. The shapes of each district could be set on the basis of political party, likelihood of voting behavior, race/ethnicity or even incarceration status, effectively allowing politicians to pick their constituents instead of the other way around. Even mid-cycle gerrymandering isn't novel: Texas engaged in a contentious midcycle redistricting in 2003, redistributing the balance of power in the state's delegation.