Arnold Schwarzenegger, the state’s former Republican governor, publicly rejected Governor Gavin Newsom’s Proposition 50 in September. The measure would sidestep the independent Citizens Redistricting Commission and return mapmaking to lawmakers who can draw lines to help incumbents. Local officials worry that pairing rural counties with big-city blocks is what gerrymanders look like in practice.
On Thursday, 37 of California’s 58 county sheriffs registered opposition and those voices were amplified by 30 elected city and county district attorneys joining a joint letter. The DAs who signed include officials from Alpine, El Dorado, Lassen, Sierra, San Luis Obispo, Placer, and Yolo counties.
“In an era marked by eroding ethics and integrity—where political assassination is excused and violent rhetoric against opponents and their families is dismissed as a mere “mistake”—we must firmly say no.”
30 District Attorneys from around the state of California, including those from east California and the Tahoe area, have come together to sign a letter voicing their opposition to a proposed statewide redistricting effort.
Proposition 50 would redraw the Congressional maps in the state of California until 2030. The effort to redistrict began as a response to new Congressional maps being drawn up in the state of Texas.
In their letter, the DAs say Prop 50 seeks to dismantle the voter-approved California Citizens Redistricting Commission and reinstate what they say is partisan gerrymandering.
“Proposition 50 undermines democracy by prioritizing politicians’ power instead of preserving voter-approved reforms that improve community representation. The independent commission has fairly redrawn electoral districts after the last two censuses.
However, Proposition 50 would allow the State Legislature to secretly craft new congressional maps before the next census—dividing communities and silencing voters. This erodes trust in government and ignores the clear mandate for independent redistricting,” the DAs said in their letter.
The special election kicked off with mail-in ballots already rolling out, and the execution has been anything but smooth. Officials admitted a ballot labeling mistake that muddied the information voters received.
With a little over a month to go before the election, mail-in ballots have already been sent to millions of voters. However, on Tuesday, California Secretary of State Shirley Weber admitted to a big mistake regarding those millions of mail-in ballots that have gone out. A labeling error in the Voter Information Guide mistakenly labeled the proposed new congressional district 27 as district 22.
Oops.
Incorrect district names and missing or muddled summary language have landed squarely in the lap of the people paying for this fight. That $300 million being funneled into Prop. 50 could have been spent on tangible priorities instead of confusing voters and buying influence.
Many prosecutors pointed out that the timing and price tag are tone deaf when Californians still need funding for public safety and treatment programs. Local leaders say resources should go toward proven programs, not reshaping political maps.
The prosecutors also criticized the timing and cost of the special election, arguing that resources would be better allocated to initiatives like Proposition 36, which focuses on expanding drug treatment programs. They contend that Prop 50’s push for new maps is a response to redistricting moves in Republican-led states like Texas, but it comes at the expense of California’s commitment to nonpartisan redistricting.
Then on October 3 Newsom vetoed a bill that would have raised firefighter pay, calling it “too costly.” For many who lost homes in the Palisades and Eaton fires, that felt like a slap while $300 million gets spent elsewhere.
Money talks and Newsom is writing the checks for Prop. 50, but cash alone doesn’t win every argument. Public anger is growing and the opposition includes sheriffs, prosecutors, and ordinary voters who smell politics over policy. The big question is turnout—those upset by this move need to show up at the ballot box.
Newsom is trying to use confusion and low morale to his advantage. We can’t let that strategy succeed.
