California Proposition 50: Redistricting voter guide

The main backers of Proposition 50 are Democrats and their allies, including high-profile politicians from across the country and some of California’s most powerful labor unions.

Newsom has argued that California has no choice but to “fight fire with fire” against what he has characterized as Trump’s attempts to steal the 2026 midterm elections by redrawing state lines to favor his own party. Without California’s redrawn maps, it’s more likely that Republicans would retain control of the House.

“We wouldn’t be here if Texas had not done what they just did, if Donald Trump didn’t do what he just did,” Newsom said in August.

Winning control of the House is the most immediate way for the Democratic Party to act as a check on the Trump administration and on actions that are harming California, including separating families through immigration raids, the clawing back of billions of dollars of federal research grants, and slashing funding for Medicaid.

In contrast to the independent redistricting commission, which does its work in public, the maps were drawn behind closed doors in Sacramento, leading to criticisms that the process was undemocratic. The Yes on 50 campaign said the decision is still ultimately up to voters, who created the independent redistricting commission and have the right to unwind it.

The Proposition 50 campaign has raised more than $61 million from Democratic organizations and many of California’s most prominent and powerful labor unions.

The cause has drawn some big-name individual donors as well, campaign filings show: Democratic megadonor George Soros contributed $10 million; San Francisco venture capitalist Michael Moritz, $2.5 million; Netflix chairman Reed Hastings, $2 million; and former Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt and Y Combinator co-founder Paul Graham, $500,000 each.