California Voters to Decide on Prop 50 Starting October 6

CALIFORNIA — On October 6, ballots will be mailed out for California’s November 4 special election, on which voters will decide whether to adopt Proposition 50, titled the “Election Rigging Response Act.” The proposition would replace California’s current congressional maps with new ones drawn by legislators that favor Democrats. Maps would return to those drawn by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission (CRC) after the 2030 US Census.

Sierra County voters mailing in their ballots must have them postmarked on or before election day. Mailed ballots postmarked in time will be counted as long as they are received by the Sierra County Clerk’s Office no later than seven days after election day. Voters can also return ballots to the Clerk’s Office at the Sierra County Courthouse or to a drop box, which will be placed from 7 AM to 8 PM at the Loyalton City Hall Auditorium on November 4. The voter registration deadline is October 20.

In 2010, California voters entrusted the job of drawing districts to an independent commission, known as the CRC. The CRC is composed of five Democrats, five Republicans, and four individuals not affiliated with either party, and is tasked with drawing district lines according to nonpartisan rules. Districts designed under the CRC are intended to be of relatively equal population, aiming to “provide fair representation for all Californians” in the US Congress.

Proposition 50 is a response by California Governor Gavin Newsom to a Texas plan aiming to redistrict the state to favor Republicans. Although already signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott in August, the redrawn Texas district map will be deliberated on in court starting this week to determine its legality. Both the Texas and California plans aim to add around five seats in Congress for their respective parties in time for the 2026 midterm elections.

Locally, Proposition 50 would place Sierra, Plumas, Lassen, and Yuba Counties into District 1, which would stretch as far west as Mendocino and Sonoma Counties. District 1’s two largest cities would be Chico and Santa Rosa. Nevada County would become part of District 4, which includes Placer County and part of El Dorado County. District 4 would also extend to carve out a piece of Sacramento.

The argument for Proposition 50 in California’s voter guide says, “Proposition 50—The Election Rigging Response Act—approves temporary, emergency congressional district maps to counter Donald Trump’s scheme to rig next year’s congressional election and reaffirms California’s commitment to independent, nonpartisan redistricting after the next census. Vote Yes on 50 for democracy in all 50 states.”

The argument against the proposition says, “Prop. 50 was written by politicians, for politicians—dismantling safeguards that keep elections fair, removes requirements to keep local communities together, and eliminates voter protections that ban maps designed to favor political parties. Vote NO to protect fair elections and keep citizens—not politicians—in charge of redistricting.”

According to the California Fair Political Practices Commission, over $76 million has been spent in support of or in opposition to the proposition. Aggregated contributions in opposition total nearly $38 million, while contributions in support total close to $39 million. The largest single donation was made by Charles Thomas Munger, Jr., a physicist and Republican political donor who contributed nearly $33 million in opposition. Munger was also the principal financial backer of Proposition 20 in 2010, which established the CRC.

In September, the California Department of Finance requested that $251 million be allocated to cover costs incurred by counties for the special election, to be distributed in advance. Sierra County received the smallest allotment of any county, at $24,000. Nevada County received $645,200, Yuba County received $350,346, Lassen County received $144,700, and Plumas County received $58,667.