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A vote against dictatorship

Experience Staff

October 9, 2025

The California Legislature led by Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Democrats put Proposition 50 on the ballot temporarily suspending the California Citizens Redistricting Commission. It is a direct response to Texas redistricting mid-decade to give the Republican party an extra five house seats for the Republican party.

This will replace the map drawn by the CRC back in 2021 with one made by the state legislature. Experts estimate it will give California an extra five House seats in majority Democrat districts. This will effectively cancel out the gerrymandering from Texas.

We urge readers to register to vote before Oct. 20. and participate in the special election on Nov. 4. in favor of Prop 50 to stop the state of Texas.

The actions taken by the Trump administration have flown in the face of the principle that the press holds most dear, the First Amendment — freedom of speech.

Repeatedly, the Trump administration and the Republican Party as a whole have used the powers of the state to silence voices they do not like or find inconvenient.

To allow the Republicans to gain an additional five seats in the House of Representatives would be to allow a major victory for censorship.

To secure adequate representation of the people within our highest legislative body is the best way to preserve democracy at a time like this.

Texas has put California in a difficult position by redistricting in 2025, rather than after the decennial U.S. Census. Texas is the state with the second most House seats, so California, as the state with the most seats in the house of representatives has a duty to counteract this by fighting fire with fire.

We at the Experience do not condone gerrymandering; however, this is necessary for the sake of maintaining the fragile balance of power in the hands of politicians who most represent the people of America. This change will only be temporary, as it will revert following the 2030 census, and the new congressional maps will be drawn in 2031.

If Prop 50 were to be rejected, the current map from 2021 would still be in effect, handing a majority of the power over to the Republican Party.