Proposition 50: courageous or corrupt?

Evan Potwora | Opinion Editor

October 10, 2025

This summer, Texas shocked the nation by formulating a new congressional voting map to gain 5 formerly Democrat-run seats in the United States House of Representatives. Mixed reactions filled the air over Texas’s House, Congress, and Governor Greg Abbot’s approved plan to flip these seats. Many criticized the “excessive” use of gerrymandering by the Texas government in order to gain these seats. Gerrymandering refers to, “the manipulation of an electoral constituency’s boundaries so as to favor one party or class.” This means that either the government or a districting board manipulates the voting boundaries in order to give themselves a boost in power or representation, as seen in Texas. In addition, many see this as a map that’s districted by race, with people commenting that the map unites different minorities to put votes together. As many minorities tend to vote democrat, it could be seen as again favoring republicans. Others say, however, that the new map correlates with how people vote rather than the supposed idea of separating minorities. 

Within the midst of the chaos, California Governor Gavin Newsom responded with a shocking move. He did the same exact thing as Texas, however flipping seats to the Democrats. He comprised Proposition 50, and created a special election for the people of California to voice their opinion on the purposeful gerrymandering. According to the Official Voter Information Guide for the Statewide Special Election, an argument in favor of Proposition 50 approved by Governor Newsom, U.S. Senator Padilla, and U.S. Speaker Pelosi exclaimed, “STOP TRUMP FROM RIGGING THE 2026 ELECTION,” and follows by describing that the Proposition, “LEVELS THE PLAYING FIELD… COMMITS TO FAIR REDISTRICTING… [and] GIVES VOTERS THE POWER.”  The Proposition hopes to block Republican cuts to healthcare, lower crackdowns on immigration, and the rising costs of living by creating a “leveled playing field” and equaling out the gained seats in the House in states such as Texas. Additionally, the voting map used in previous years would come back in 2028, making this change temporary.

Despite the anger in Texas, many people have jumped to support the idea in California. Senior Reese Tremper felt that, “California should act on this with the correct intentions. Republicans are attempting to unfairly rig house seats, and all parties should get a fair chance at representation.” However, many within California are upset about the Proposition, stating that the changes are costly. Reform California exclaimed, “To redraw the state’s congressional maps [comes] at a cost to taxpayers of more than $200 million.” Others exclaim that if California is shaming Texas in their choices, they should not do the same thing, and should not fight fire with fire. A statement by VoterFIRSTAct explained that, “Prop. 50 throws out citizen-drawn congressional maps created through a transparent public process with input from over 35,000 Californians.” People don’t know where to stand with this controversial Proposition. Junior Emily Jahed explained that, “It’s important to level out the playing field, however I still feel a bit curious about the ethics of the Proposition. I understand taking an active stance, but I am still questionable about gerrymandering and if it’s the best move to make.”

In the end, Proposition 50 provides an interesting moral debate. Do you try to level the playing field, even if it means employing the measures of the very people you’re fighting against? Or do you just sit back, and watch democracy fall? Since the special election has opened this week, many voters have had to make this choice. In this time of polarity and loss of our democratic systems, it’s important that people take an active stand against the politicians who are trying to gain more power for their agenda. Even though California might be performing the same actions, they are doing it with the best intentions. California politicians see the legislation that Republicans are trying to pass, and understand that many of these choices are not in their constituents best interest. However, when a red state is tampering with the equality of the representation, California cannot sit on the bench and watch. Action is needed, and action is being taken, and the people of California need to keep fighting for action. Polls will close November 4th, so make sure to keep a close eye to see the decision your fellow Californians make.