Cal State Los Angeles offers one of more than 100 voting centers in Los Angeles County for the Nov. 4 special election. The center is located on the fourth floor of the University Library Palmer Wing.
Photo by J. Emilio Flores/Cal State L.A.
Wave Staff and Wire Reports
LOS ANGELES — Voters have until Nov. 4 to cast a vote on Proposition 50, the statewide ballot measure also known as the Election Rigging Response Act.
If approved by voters, the measure would allow the state to temporarily redraw congressional districts in response to other states, including Texas, redrawing their electoral maps outside the standard 10-year U.S. Census cycle, affecting the 2026, 2028, and 2030 elections.
Gov. Gavin Newsom came up with the ballot measure in response to Texas redrawing its congressional maps in an effort to keep more Republican seats in the House of Representatives for the 2026 midterm elections.
“It’s Prop. 50 for a reason,” Newsom said in September. “It impacts all 50 states. Donald Trump realizes and recognizes that he is likely — almost overwhelmingly — to lose the midterms. He is trying to hold on to power. The only way he can hold onto power is to rig the system.”
Newsom said that five new Republican seats in the House are likely to be delivered to Trump in Texas and the president’s allies in other red states are focused on doing the same before next year’s election.
“This is a profound and consequential moment in American history,” Newsom said. “We could lose this republic if we do not assert ourselves and stand tall at this moment and stand guard to this republic and our democracy. I feel that in my bones.”
A new video featuring Black elected officials from across the state is urging voters to support Proposition 50.
Officials featured in the ad include Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass; Assemblymen Mike Gipson, D-Gardena; and Isaac Bryan, D-Culver City; Assemblywomen Tina McKinnor, D-Inglewood; and Sade Elhawary, D-Los Angeles; Los Angeles City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, City Councilwoman Heather Hutt; state Sens. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas, D-Los Angeles; and Laura Richardson, D-Inglewood; and Los Angeles school board member Sherlett Hendy Newbill.
In the video, the leaders emphasize that Proposition 50 protects fair representation, preserves Black political power, and counters efforts in other states to manipulate congressional districts. They frame a “yes” vote as essential to defending voting rights and ensuring that all communities have a voice in Congress.
Other supporters, including former President Barack Obama, say the measure ensures equal representation and counters partisan gerrymandering in other states. Opponents argue it undermines California’s independent redistricting process and serves partisan interests.
The video coincides with on-the-ground efforts to mobilize voters. On Oct. 25, the California Black Power Network Action Fund and partners, including Black Women for Wellness Action Project and LA Black Worker Center, held a rally and canvassing event at Leimert Park. The event included voter outreach and canvass training.
“Yes on Proposition 50 is about standing our ground,” Smallwood-Cuevas said. “Our voices, our votes, and our representation are not negotiable.”
State Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson, D-San Diego, in a separate video released on social media, said Proposition 50 is necessary to protect the state’s political influence and the voting power of historically marginalized communities.
“Prop. 50 isn’t perfect, but it’s a tough and necessary choice,” Weber Pierson said
Her video and accompanying posts also emphasize support from the California Legislative Black Caucus, the NAACP and Black Women for Wellness.
Opponents, including former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, argue that Proposition 50 is a partisan attempt to favor Democrats and undermine the independent redistricting system Californians approved through a ballot measure in 2008. They describe the measure as “undemocratic” and a challenge to reforms intended to ensure fair representation.
Opponents also say Proposition 50 “creates one of the most extreme partisan gerrymanders in modern American history” and is a “threat to democracy and fair elections in California,” according to the campaign against the measure.
Jeanne Raya, an executive for an insurance agency in San Gabriel and former chair of California’s first Citizens Redistricting Commission, and Fabian Valdez Jr., an information strategist and predictive modeling and geographic information systems expert, also oppose the measure.
Raya, who was instrumental in establishing the independent Citizens Redistricting Commission — which draws the state’s electoral maps every 10 years — says the state’s message supporting a yes vote on Proposition 50 is problematic.
“It’s misleading to the people who think that it’s temporary and that politicians are not going to see the value in holding on to the power that they are going to have for the next five years,” Raya said. “I think by the time this happens in 2030, people will have forgotten how important the Independent Commission is. They will get used to seeing that incumbent protection plan.”
Valdez said the new proposed maps change some of the “traditional grouping” of the current map laid out by the redistricting commission, and how it affects the regions and neighborhoods.
“The ‘yes’ side has not done any presentation about maps,” Valdez said. “They just say that it’s about Trump. I understand that, but they are not talking about what the maps are doing and how they are splitting communities.”
The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder’s Office has mailed mail-in ballots to all registered voters in the county. The office also has established voting centers throughout the county where those ballots can be dropped off by 8 pm. Election night. Ballots can also be dropped off at any U.S. Post Office, but must be postmarked by Nov. 4 to be counted.
A complete list (and map) of voting center is available at locator.lavote.gov.
