With November around the corner, “voting,” “ballots” and “propositions” are words being blasted all over our local news. As someone who was not 18 years old during last year’s presidential election, I’m excited to finally be able to let my voice be heard. I am not here to try and shape your own political views and force you to vote the same as me but to better inform people on what Proposition 50 is all about and for my voice to be heard on the issue. So, if you are reading this and had no idea that there was a statewide special election in California next month, or you need to know more about Prop. 50, allow me to start by explaining neutral basics.
Stated on the official ballot: Proposition 50 (would authorize) temporary changes to the state’s congressional districts in response to Texas’ partisan redistricting. To really simplify what that means, Texas has reshaped their state congressional districts to make votes lean towards one side, which people in politics call “gerrymandering.”
In this case, Texas is trying to make their congressional districts more Republican. So, California Democrats have seen that and say: Well, if they do that, we must counteract by making our state district more liberal. By voting “Yes,” you would be supporting a new legislatively-drawn map of California, which would counteract Texas gerrymandering by adding more Democrat representatives to balance their increase of Republican representatives. Voting “No” would keep the current Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, which is what we currently have, and the state’s redistricting process independent of politics.
Being college students, you are probably asking me: “What has this got to do with me?” Although these election results do not directly affect you at this moment, your vote will change the future of our democracy as a whole. With our current government being heavily right leaning, with Republicans controlling not only the POTUS, but also the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate (or you could say “both houses of Congress” or “the federal legislative branch” as well.
According to a recent article by EdSource, “The vote follows a proposal by Republicans … to cut 15%, or roughly $12 billion, from the U.S. Department of Education budget for the 2026 fiscal year, a figure close to President Donald Trump’s budget demands. The current House version of the bill would force the Department of Education to cut $938 million in Title I funds that Congress approved in March.”
Not only do they cut millions in education for future generations, but they also oppose student debt forgiveness. So, instead of relieving millions of students who are struggling with educational debt, the money is going to Trump’s new ballroom in the White House. Trump and his administration are also not counting out his third term as president, which is not even possible under the U.S. Constitution’s 22nd Amendment.
If the election’s result fails for Proposition 50 (having more “No” votes than “Yes”), Trump and his desire of having unconstitutional power will only increase. But if Proposition 50 succeeds, it would help restore the odds of the 2026 midterm elections and future elections as well.
According to an article by PPIC, “Under the new maps proposed by Prop 50, Democrats stand to win five more House seats in the 2026 election.” With five more seats, they would have a better shot at taking over the House of Representatives again, allowing more political competitiveness in the future, giving you and future generations the ability to use their voices to fight.
