Come Nov. 4, all eyes will be on California when eligible voters cast their ballots containing only one item—Proposition 50.
The measure would authorize temporary use of new state congressional district maps through 2030, directing the independent Citizens Redistricting Commission to resume enacting district maps in 2031.
Vote
The Proposition 50 election has 45 polling locations in SLO County. Confirm your polling location if you intend to vote in person by checking the stub at the top of your mail-in ballot or by looking it up at sos.ca.gov/elections/polling-place. The U.S. Postal Service stated that residents more than 50 miles from a postal hub can’t count on their return envelope getting postmarked the day they mail it. Since all SLO County voters are more than 50 miles from the Goleta USPS hub, those intending to mail their ballot should do it at least a week before Nov. 4. If voters wait longer than that, they should take their ballots to a post office to be hand-canceled or use an official ballot drop box instead.
Spearheaded by Gov. Gavin Newsom, Proposition 50 is the state Legislature’s response in the race between Democrats and Republicans to redraw congressional maps and alter the balance of power at the national level.
Proponents of the measure say the Election Rigging Response Act levels the playing field after state leaders in Texas redrew congressional district lines to gain five Republican seats in the U.S. House of Representatives before the 2026 midterm elections.
Proposition 50 proposes new lines for many of California’s 52 congressional districts to favor Democrats, aiming to neutralize the five Republican seats added by Texas.
Opponents claim the measure dismantles safeguards that keep elections fair, changes the Constitution to replace the voter-approved Citizens Redistricting Commission, and costs taxpayers nearly $300 million to pay for the special election.
“It’s not a comforting vote because you’re voting to suspend one of the best redistricting commissions in the United States,” Cal Poly political science professor Michael Latner said. “It’s not a simple argument, but the argument I equate it to is the hypothetical argument of, ‘Would you kill baby Hitler?’ Most people would say no, that’s a horrible idea, but if you talk about killing baby Hitler and avoiding the consequences that would follow, then it makes it much more appealing.”
Latner, the Union of Concerned Scientists’ latest Voting Rights Kendall Fellow, added that it’s a misconception that voting “yes” on Proposition 50 is a vote in favor of gerrymandering. He pointed to vocal opposition to the measure by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and multi-millionaire physicist Charles Munger Jr.
“That’s half of an argument because if your goal is free and fair representation, then you should want that for everyone,” Latner said.
Voting on Proposition 50, according to Latner, is a “horrible position” for the United States to be in.
“Congress should have long ago passed the laws that prohibit partisan gerrymandering,” he said. “We are the only democracy in the world that only seats two parties in its national legislature. It’s ridiculous, and it’s time that we move on past this arcane machinery that just incentivizes this sort of manipulation.”
For San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties, the congressional district maps would remain virtually unchanged.
SLO County Democratic Party Chair Tom Fulks still thinks it’s important for local citizens to vote.
“Historically, midterm elections are at the time when the American people passed judgment on the incumbent president, and historically, the incumbent president has for the most part, lost seats in the House,” he said. “What’s happening now with these midterm readjustments, Republican states are trying to prevent the American people from having an influence on national policy.”
With chatter about redistricting gaining steam in Missouri, Kansas, Utah, Indiana, Louisiana, and Ohio, among other conservative states, Fulks thinks Proposition 50’s success won’t do enough for Democrats.
“This is a signal to other states led by Democrats to start moving on this. I know Maryland is moving on it. … Virginia, right now, is looking at three congressional seats,” he said. “California provides the permission structure for other Democrat-led states, … as the biggest state in the union, as the tentpole of the American economy.”
‘Power of democracy’
“Yes on 50” signs floated among the sea of people gathered along Monterey and Osos streets in front of the San Luis Obispo Superior Court on Oct. 18.
The Downtown SLO rally was one of the 2,700 No Kings demonstrations that took place that day across the nation protesting President Donald Trump’s policies, including the administration’s ICE raids and cuts to federal programs like health care, underscored by the federal government shutdown.
“No order can silence your voice,” 4th District Supervisor Jimmy Paulding told the cheering crowd from a small stage. “Journalists are not meant to serve power, they’re meant to challenge power.”
Other local speakers included La Cultura del Mundo founder Cesar Vasquez, Cal Poly Democrats President Talie Krantz, SLO City Councilmember Emily Francis who spoke as a private citizen, and Arroyo Grande High School Young Progressives Club President Bibi Shah.
Shah can’t vote yet and neither can her peers, but she said that they’ve still spoken about Proposition 50.
“I did a lesson on it at Young Progressives, so maybe they can tell their parents about it even though we can’t vote on it,” the 16-year-old told New Times during the rally. “It can be scary to get involved in politics when you’re really young, but it’s really important. A lot of people think it’s really just gerrymandering, but it’s really just a gerrymandering response act.”
SLO resident Jack Lamb listened to the speakers, holding one of the few “Yes on 50” signs. He said he’s voting “yes” on the proposition “because Trump’s trying to steal the next election.”
The 68-year-old is no stranger to protests. Lamb, an X-ray technician at the California Men’s Colony, said he took part in the blockade against Diablo Canyon Power Plant in the 1980s when it was granted a license to operate.
“Prop. 50 is the way we demonstrate the power of democracy while we fight autocracy,” he said.
Across from Lamb, on the other side of the street, Pismo Beach resident and retired graphic designer Susan Aldridge held up a “Yes on 50” sign, too.
She agreed that the proposition is a way of gerrymandering, adding that the Democrats are going ahead with it because “we’re in a fight.”
“To take the higher road now does nothing,” she said. “There’s a lot of money going into advertisements against it, like with Arnold Schwarzenegger, but they’re misinformed.”
Rusty Peters, a 39-year-old SLO resident, shared Aldridge’s views.
“We have to get dirty,” said Peters, a registered nurse. “I’m not advocating for violence because right-wing violence is a huge problem.”
Dressed in a silver space suit and a helmet made to look like a hollowed-out disco ball, he said he’s voted in every election since he turned 18 when he cast his ballot for 2004 presidential hopeful John Kerry, adding that he wanted to bring whimsy and levity to this time.
“I’m doing this in solidarity with the Portland protesters who are highlighting the ridiculousness of it,” he said, referring to the Portland Frog Brigade—a group of people who gathered outside the city’s ICE facility wearing inflatable frog costumes to protest recent raids and deportations.
‘Representational balance’
Retired school counselor Sandi Pardini, 79, filled and mailed out her ballot on the same day it arrived in her mailbox.
Even though she thinks redistricting should be left to an independent redistricting commission, the Arroyo Grande resident said she voted “yes” because Republican lawmakers in Texas redrew the state’s congressional map.
“What I love is they’re [California lawmakers] putting it on the ballot,” Pardini, an independent voter, said. “The others didn’t do that; their legislatures did it without asking people.”
Pardini, who said the only Republican candidate she’s ever voted for was Schwarzenegger when he ran for state governor, told New Times she’d be critical of the Democrats too if they tried to redistrict California proactively.
“I love what Newsom is doing. Politicians have always been off and on a little sideways but never like this,” she said. “I just hope it passes.”
For 30-year-old Nipomo resident Madeleine, who declined to provide her last name, there’s no other option but voting yes.
After living in Montana, the former Republican said she planned to register to vote in California a few days before Halloween.
“Trump being president made me ask more questions and get more involved,” said Madeleine, who works in media management.
She added that she’s heard people say that Proposition 50 is unfair, “but it’s exactly what Texas did.”
“I don’t think it’s the most efficient, but it’s fighting fire with fire,” she said.
Santa Maria resident April Carr, 47, told New Times on the Pismo Beach pier that she’s a “news junkie” who’s been learning about Proposition 50 from a variety of platforms, including twitch.tv.
With no party preference, Carr—who has mostly voted for Democrats and independent candidates—said she would be voting yes on the proposition.
“California’s laws and process for redistricting is fair in a way that is unfair nationally,” she said. “California, in order to create a representational balance within Congress as a whole, needs to compensate.”
Some voters are less certain—like Tyler Nies, a manager at a Pismo Beach restaurant, who’s now a moderate voter after leaning liberal in the past.
“I’m not for it, and I’m not against it,” the 34-year-old said. “California is a Democratic state anyway, so I’m not worried about it because the people who voted Republican will still be Republicans.”
Nies said he needed to study up on Proposition 50 more before casting his ballot. According to him, he’s always been a proponent of redistricting but dislikes that California lawmakers devised the proposition to be “retaliatory.”
“But I don’t think Texas redistricting to give Republicans more seats is a good thing. They’re trying to cheat the system. I’d feel the same if California were to do it first,” the Pennsylvania native said. “But 90 percent of California is rural, and I feel like those people don’t get much of a voice.”
Christopher Ledezma, who lives in Fresno County’s Reedley, told New Times during a visit to Pismo Beach that he can’t afford to stay away from politics any longer.
“I didn’t feel the need to have an interest until now,” he said. “This is affecting the people around me, my family, my friends. Even in Reedley, which is small, you see the cultural shift, and I don’t like it.”
The 30-year-old security guard said he’s stayed away from social media for almost eight years. The little he sees about the state of the world on his girlfriend’s phone overwhelms him.
“My own conscience says I want to do everything right, but I don’t know what to believe in,” he said.
Ledezma said he hadn’t decided on how he would vote yet, but that he would definitely vote by Nov. 4.
“At this point, you have to [vote] now, otherwise people are going to speak for you,” he said.
‘Absolutely absurd’
In Paso Robles, retired social services worker Sandy, who declined to provide her last name, said she voted no on Proposition 50, even though she identifies as a lifelong Democrat.
“Per se, I don’t really have a problem with it,” she said. “But the reason we were doing it kind of bothered me. It was like we were trying to be just like Texas and all the other states. And I thought, ‘Ain’t we better than that?’”
Sandy said she dropped her completed ballot at the Paso Robles Library within a week of receiving it. Although she believes redistricting reform could be useful, she disagrees with how lawmakers are approaching it.
“They need to go back through the Legislature and change the law. Even if it’s just temporary,” Sandy said. “Don’t put it back on the people that already voted to have a nonpartisan redistricting panel.”
Her skepticism echoes concerns from local Republican leaders. Republican Party of SLO County Chair Randall Jordan called the measure “a terrible, terrible bill” that allows legislators to pick their districts instead of voters.
“If Prop. 50 passes, … we’re basically going to be completely neutered in the state of California,” Jordan said.
The Republican Party of SLO County has been working to rally opposition to the measure in the final weeks before the election, according to Jordan. On Oct. 19, party members volunteered at a No on 50 rally hosted by Reform California and Assemblymember Carl DeMaio (R-San Diego) at Life Community Church in Paso Robles.
“It was actually part of DeMaio’s statewide bus tour—they’d just come from Salinas,” Jordan explained. “The energy was there. People were very, very excited to hear what he had to say.”
He added that most attendees had already decided to vote against Proposition 50 but came to show support and learn more about its potential impact.
“I think most people understood that carving up the lines of the districts was not a good thing,” he said. “It would keep the fairness out of our elections and make it harder for any Republican to get elected in this state.”
Santa Barbara County Republican Party spokesperson Jim Byrne described California’s Citizens Redistricting Commission as “a gold standard for the nation to follow,” which is partly why he’s voting no on Proposition 50.
“We don’t want politicians to create these maps. We want to leave it in the hands of voters—Democrat, independent, decline to state, and Republican,” Byrne said. “The new redistricting map was created, … to basically disenfranchise Republican voters in the state, which is highly unfair. [Proposition 50] would disenfranchise tens of thousands of voters, if not hundreds of thousands of voters.”
Sterling Hayden, a 38-year-old tire salesman and father of four, agrees: Proposition 50 represents government overreach that he can’t support.
“I think it’s absolutely absurd. I can’t believe we’re even voting on this,” he said. “I think absolutely no, and I’m appalled that this is even coming up to vote.”
Hayden said he recently changed his registration to Republican—just last week—after years of being nonpartisan. His political shift, he said, came after the death of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.
“Watching what happened and having children of my own and knowing that he’ll never go home to his kids because of opinions and words, really changed the way I look at things,” he said.
He said he’s been signing petitions opposing Proposition 50 and urging others to get involved.
Others in North County see the special election differently. Frank Walker, 73, a retired art teacher and therapist from Cambria, said he voted “yes.”
“I’m in favor of it simply because of what’s happening with other states, Texas and I guess North Carolina now,” he said. “They’re redistricting just to give a majority to the Republicans. We need to level the playing field.”
Although he said he preferred when redistricting was handled by a citizens commission, he sees the measure as a necessary counterbalance.
“I don’t like the idea that this is happening at a state level,” Walker said. “But I can understand why California is doing that again, to level the playing field.”
In Santa Margarita, John Beckia, a Green Party voter, also said he plans to vote yes on Proposition 50 but for strategic reasons.
“I’m worried about the election being rigged from gerrymandering,” he said. “I think that the way it’s written is very shrewd in that it has a clause in it that says if the Texas gerrymandering thing is found illegal in the courts, then this throws Prop. 50 out—and I think that’s a very sharp way of doing it.”
While the language of the measure doesn’t include a clause like that, the amendment does specifically state that it’s “in response to the congressional redistricting in Texas in 2025.” Beckia said he typically supports independent redistricting commissions but sees this as an urgent response to national politics.
“It’s kind of an emergency that we respond to the Texas gerrymandering,” he said.
‘It’s all corrupt’
The corner of South Broadway and Cook streets in Santa Maria bustled with hundreds of protesters near both City Hall and the Town Center Mall during the afternoon of Oct. 18, when Indivisible Santa Maria hosted its version of the nationwide No Kings rally.
“We estimate we had 1,100 people show up,” Cliff Solomon, one of the local protest’s organizers, told New Times via email.
A registered Democrat and retired educator, Solomon said he will vote yes on Proposition 50, which he described as an aim to restore the democratic process across the country.
“We must fight the political gerrymandering that has happened in Texas and other states,” the 77-year-old Santa Maria resident said.
Arroyo Grande resident Charlton Miller said he’s voting no on Proposition 50, which he described as solidifying Democrats’ power base.
“I’m adamantly opposed to Prop. 50,” the 67-year-old retiree said at the Santa Maria Town Center on Oct. 23—a few days after No Kings participants rallied outside of the mall’s walls.
“The people of California already voted on this,” the registered Republican added, referring to the independent redistricting commission formed in 2008.
Miller said that “trying to reverse what Texas did” in August is not a justifiable reason for California to bypass its voter-approved commission to redraw district lines. He also called the Nov. 4 special election a huge waste of taxpayer money.
Lompoc resident Deb—who declined to give New Times her last name—said she hopes the redistricting debate turns out to be “a bad movie we’re all moving away from.”
The 74-year-old homemaker said she’s not voting on Proposition 50 because she doesn’t believe either outcome will have a positive impact.
Deb described herself as a former Democrat who’s gradually become disenchanted with the party over the past 20 years.
“What they’re saying is not really what they’re doing,” she said. “But Republicans aren’t any better. … It’s all corrupt.”
Cal Poly student Elena Carissimi said that if Texas can play with the government on the Republican side, it gives Democrats the excuse to do it as well. The 18-year-old environmental management and protection major added that she agrees with the proposition’s mission and goal, and she voted yes.
“I wish I didn’t have to register,” the registered Democrat said. “I hate the two-party system, but you can’t leave the party, you have to fight with it.”
Fellow student, registered Dem, and environmental protection and management major Ryan Graul said that the proposition and Newsom aim to stop Trump from “a lot of these policies that he’s putting in place that are taking away some of our freedoms.”
“I think it is the appropriate response, and I think that we are at a point where you need to take that level of action in order to counter some of the actions on the other side,” Graul said. ∆
New Times Staff Writer Bulbul Rajagopal, intern Bella Cox, and contributor Chloë Hodge and Sun Senior Staff Writer Caleb Wiseblood all contributed to this story. Reach Editor Camillia Lanham at clanham@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Oct 30 – Nov 9 2025.