California’s Proposition 50 is being sold as a defense of democracy—but under the surface, it looks a lot more like a calculated power grab dressed up in high-minded rhetoric.
This week, former President Barack Obama and Governor Gavin Newsom launched a full-court press urging voters to support the measure, which would scrap the state’s independent redistricting commission—created by voters in 2008—and hand redistricting power back to the Democrat-dominated state legislature. If passed, Prop 50 would open the door for a mid-decade remap that conveniently slashes Republican-held congressional seats from nine to five, despite the fact that Republicans earned roughly 40% of the vote in 2024.
Obama called the measure a way to “stop Republicans in their tracks.” That’s not a slip—it’s the strategy.
Let’s be clear: the independent commission wasn’t a Republican invention. It was a voter-approved reform designed to reduce partisan gerrymandering on both sides. It was hailed as a national model. But now that California Democrats fear losing their edge—particularly with Texas redrawing its own lines to favor Republicans—they’re pushing to dismantle the very institution they once claimed would protect electoral fairness.
Newsom and Obama are framing the move as a “response” to GOP gerrymandering in states like Texas. In reality, Prop 50 would give Democrats the power to unilaterally redraw maps to their liking—mid-decade—something they previously condemned when Republicans did it elsewhere.
Even more troubling is how this measure was rushed through the legislature. Using a “gut and amend” maneuver, Newsom bypassed the typical 30-day public review process required by law. The California Supreme Court allowed it to proceed anyway. Now voters face a $250 million special election to vote on a plan most of them don’t even support. A recent UC Berkeley–Politico poll showed 64% of Californians prefer keeping the independent redistricting commission.
Despite that, the Democratic machine is in overdrive. Multimillion-dollar ad campaigns, celebrity endorsements, targeted outreach to Latino communities—every resource is being poured into convincing voters that the only way to protect democracy is to tear down one of its most trusted safeguards.
But this isn’t about fairness. This is about control. It’s about rigging the rules before 2026 to shield vulnerable Democratic incumbents and claw back power in Washington. It’s about retaliating against red states by adopting the very tactics Democrats once condemned.
The message from Newsom and Obama is that gerrymandering is bad—unless they’re the ones doing it.
