The sweet taste of victory, the bitter bite of deception
By NEVAEH KARRAKER — nakarraker@ucdavis.edu
Ballots for Proposition 50 are flooding mailboxes, and, for many first-years at UC Davis, it’s their first time voting in California. With the disappointment expressed by many in response to the actions of the Donald Trump administration, the future of our democracy seems more terrifying than the monsters parading the streets on Halloween.
If passed, Proposition 50 will give Democrats an upper hand for the next presidential election, according to a brief summary provided by the California Secretary of State Shirley Weber. It’s a direct response from the Democrats to Texas’ mid-decade redistricting for more Republican member seats.
Now, before checking the “yes” box right away and cashing in our candy corn, let’s think about this further: No policy should be voted on unless we understand the whole picture.
Ok, so this proposition aims to give the Democratic party an advantage, but how exactly?
California has been a known “blue” state — the last time it voted “red” in a presidential election was in 1988 for George W. Bush. So, it seems like California is most likely safe in terms of political preference in the electoral college, especially considering that 43 out of 52 spots in the California House of Representatives are held by Democrats and both California Senate members belong to the Democratic Party. So, if the map is already saturated with blue, why redraw it? Is it an effort to preserve a spell of democratic dominance, or something more strategic?
California Citizens Redistricting Commission (CCRC) is an independent, nonpartisan body of state legislature founded in 2008 that draws district lines. Since the passing of Proposition 20 in 2010, voters approved 14 members to jurisdict the expansion of this process to include congressional district lines as well as State Assembly district lines. Proposition 50 temporarily bypasses the process set up by Prop. 20 to allow the state of California (rather than the CRCC) to have authority to redraw congressional districts, in the same way that Texas’ state government has strategically redrawn their districts. If approved, Assembly Bill 604 would outline these boundaries.
These new lines that would be temporarily adopted under Prop. 50 were drawn by veteran Democratic redistricting expert Paul Mitchell, along with similarly qualified consultants, who drew reference from California’s Democratic congressional delegation in their map.
At first glance, it sounds like a good political move — but, under the surface, redrawing boundaries sucks the life out of public autonomy. This proposition moves redistricting power from the hands of the people (via the independent CRCC) and gives it to state government authorities — so even though the goal is to bolster democratic representation in Washington D.C., it’s important to be aware of the caveat behind it; it transfers autonomy from the people to the state. Partisan gerrymandering is no new technique, yet it’s the equivalent of carving a pretty design into a pumpkin only to find it rotten on the inside; it’s a trick that undermines democracy and compromises votes.
This segways into some spooky insights about Prop. 50.
The Los Angeles Times recently published a poll detailing how Californians believe Governor Gavin Newsom is more focused on his presidential ambitions than the issues haunting his state. He’s rebranded himself as an “anti-Trump” activist, dueling with Trump on X and other platforms, calling him a “loser” and slandering him in almost every public announcement.
This feud seems more like middle school bickering than a powerful political movement, and, even worse, Californians are eating it up like candy.
The far right has experienced extreme criticism through their glorification of Trump and his policies, especially with the rise of questionable Christian ideals — establishing faith-driven entities while he himself does not believe — and immature, artificial intelligence-generated videos on social media.
However, favoring a policy or person simply because they are anti-this or anti-that isn’t a good way to make a well-informed or wise decision; it’s exactly how political control is maintained — through theatrics and fake advertisement.
Proposition 50 may be empowering the Democratic party, but it’s also doing much more than that. Newsom has expressed his interest in being president and Proposition 50 may just be a pre-presidential campaign for him (or for any other democratic candidate).
By utilizing his platform to showcase Trump’s flaws, he swoops in to “save” California — it’s an excellent strategy to secure the votes he needs. Even if Newsom doesn’t run in 2028, Congress will be granted more leniency in which way the election leans — the exact thing we’re trying to avoid.
So, before you drop your ballot in the cauldron, remember there’s always some politician in a costume that might have hidden something nefarious in the candy they’re offering you: They could just be taking advantage of your hunger as you jeopardize your own rights as a voter.
Written by: Nevaeh Karraker—nakarraker@ucdavis.edu
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by individual columnists belong to the columnists alone and do not necessarily indicate the views and opinions held by The California Aggie.
