CA Redistricting Measure Polls Ahead

In Response to pro-Republican gerrymandering in Texas and Missouri, California is attempting a similar redistricting in an effort to net five seats for the Democrats in the 2026 elections.

In order to do this, the state requires passage of a ballot initiative. The measure in question is known as Proposition 50, and it was leading in polls as voting began.

The following from Fox News (second link above) seems to be an accurate description of the proposal (PDF):

California state lawmakers this summer approved a special proposition on the November ballot to obtain voter approval to temporarily sidetrack the state's nonpartisan redistricting commission and return the power to draw the congressional maps to the Democrat-dominated legislature. Ballots began being mailed out on Monday.

The effort in California, which could create five more Democratic-leaning congressional districts, aims to counter the passage in the reliable red state of Texas of a new map that aims to create up to five right-leaning House seats. Failure to approve what's known as Proposition 50 would be a stinging setback for Democrats.

Punchbowl News (first link) delves into the polling a bit, and while I think their commentary on the effects of messaging is unclear, I find the GOP argument against passage to be quite rich:

The ad wars. The pollster tested the arguments each party is using in their TV advertising campaigns. Voters said they were between 46% and 57% more likely to back Prop 50 after hearing the various Democratic pitches for it.

...

But voters were only 37% to 44% less likely to back Prop 50 after hearing the GOP arguments against it. Those arguments stressed that Prop 50 would create a dangerous precedent, undermine democracy and add millions of dollars in costs to taxpayers. [bold in original]

Given its slavish loyalty to a President who sets bad precedents like it's a bodily function, it's rich hearing them complain that a temporary measure they made necessary is a bad precedent. Ditto for them, of all people, complaining about "undermining democracy [sic]" or wasting tax money.

Perhaps if the GOP-controlled House bothered to do anything to restrain the President, it wouldn't feel the need to rig the '26 election, nor would states like California have to do anything about it.

I'm not wild about this measure, but I favor it. This President should have been impeached and removed from office for his illegal and capricious import taxes alone or, better yet, prevented from playing around at all with tariffs -- which are legally the responsibility of Congress, anyway.

Every single Republican in the House deserves to lose in '26. That won't happen, and I don't relish a Democratic majority, but Trump and his Republican lackeys pose a danger to the Republic, and need to be stopped.

Were I Californian, I'd vote for this measure.

-- CAV