Prop. 50 sails to victory in California, with overwhelming support in Monterey County.

Early election returns show Proposition 50—California's statewide redistricting plan that redraws the congressional maps to create five new Democratic-favored districts before the 2026 midterm election—sailing to victory with 63.8 percent of the vote as of a 4am count from the California Secretary of State. 

In Monterey County, the measure has 67.8 percent of the vote, with ballots still arriving by mail. This count, reported as of 11pm on Nov. 4, Election Day, reflects vote-by-mail ballots received in advance of the election, and most ballots cast at the polls. (County elections officials have not yet reported on how many provisional ballots there are to be counted, duplicate ballots or other issues to remedy.)

The proposition is a plan crafted by Gov. Gavin Newsom with support from Democratic lawmakers and California congressional Democrats to gerrymander districts midway between census cycles to favor their party in the 2026 midterm election. Their hope is to thwart Republican states, starting with Texas, that are pursuing gerrymandering plans to favor Republicans at the behest of President Donald Trump. (Normally, redistricting is done just every 10 years based on new census data.) 

Prop. 50 is short-term, meaning the new maps will go away after the 2030 census results are in and the state's independent redistricting commission does its usual decadal process—with an express goal of avoiding political gerrymandering.

In a statement, the California Democratic National Committee celebrated the passage of Prop. 50. “When Donald Trump started ordering his Republican lackeys to save his fading power by rigging the midterms, he didn’t realize he’d be up against a new Democratic Party," DNC Chair Ken Martin said in a statement. "We don’t roll over when one team refuses to play by the rules. We fight back."

For voters in Monterey County, their districts will not change as a result of Prop. 50. District 19, currently represented by Jimmy Panetta, D-Carmel Valley, will not change.

The lines of District 18, represented by Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose, will move somewhat but the eastern Monterey County constituency will be unchanged. District 18 will lose some voters on its northern end in San Jose (who will move to District 17, now represented by Ro Khanna, D-San Jose) and will expand to the southeast, adding redder Coalinga in Fresno County, cutting those constituents out of District 22.

The gerrymandering logic there is to move Republican-leaning voters into a "safe" Democratic District 18, and making District 22—currently occupied by Republican David Valadao—more Democratic-leaning, one of the districts Democrats hope to flip in 2026.

The California Republican Party announced on Wednesday morning, Nov. 5, that they are suing the state in federal court, alleging it unconstitutionally gerrymanders districts, claiming it violates the 14th Amendment (which includes the equal protection clause) and 15th Amendment (granting voting rights to people of any race).

Lofgren, who helped assess the integrity of the plan, says their team looked closely to make sure the new districts would be compliant with the Voting Rights Act. She says that when Trump first asked Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to find five additional Republican House members in 2026, a Democratic political team immediately started looking at the voter registration data to see if a counterattack to neutralize would be possible—although at that time, she adds, "We were hoping we would back Texas off and they would just give up. Instead, they doubled down."

So California pursued Prop. 50, with lawmakers sending the plan to voters on Nov. 4, who gave their resounding yes.

Speaking before Election Day, Lofgren added, "It’s not just about our districts, it’s about the country, and whether there is to be a check and balance.

"The damage that’s been done to California by the administration is really pretty substantial. Our friends across the aisle are really not standing up to him."

As to her new constituents in Coalinga, Lofgren says she is committed to representing them wholeheartedly. The eastern portion of Monterey County was added to District 18 only after the 2010 census, and she has been learning about the agriculture industry and its needs since then, something that will apply in western Fresno County.

Lofgren says the Fresno County sheriff has posted on social media prior to the election with concern about Prop. 50. "I said, 'Vote however you want, but if it passes, we’re going to be in touch, you’re going to have my cell phone, you’re going to be able to get ahold of me.' Our mutual constituents want us to serve them."