Shawn Griffiths
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The national progressive organization that spawned from Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign has now set its sights on Proposition 50 in California and says it will mobilize 1.2 million contacts statewide in support of a proposed legislative gerrymander.
Our Revolution’s executive director, Joseph Geevarghese, says California must “fight back” against a coordinated GOP effort to manipulate congressional maps in Texas, Missouri, Ohio, and Florida.
Donald Trump and the GOP are trying to rig the system to keep themselves in power, enrich their corporate backers, and dismantle our democracy piece by piece. Prop 50 is how we fight back here in California.”
If approved by voters, Prop 50 will adopt a legislative-drawn congressional map designed to take 5 seats from Republicans to nullify a Texas gerrymander aimed at protecting the GOP's razor-thin majority in Congress.
The map would circumvent the state’s voter-approved independent redistricting commission until after the 2030 census, meaning the new map will be in place until the 2032 election cycle. Under the plan, Democrats could hold as much as 92% of California’s congressional seats.
Geevarghese said his group will deploy organizers on the ground, text and phone bank voters, and canvass neighborhoods in every region of the state. The goal: to reach more than 1.2 million voters before ballots are counted.
Early voting begins on October 6, 29 days before the November 4 special election.
California is Ground Zero to Big Stakes, Big Players, and Big Money
Prop 50 has become one of the most controversial ballot measures in recent memory. Our Revolution has adopted the standard argument from supporters, led by Gov. Gavin Newsom, the Democratic Party, and Democratic-aligned groups:
Specifically, the state has to “fight fire with fire” to prevent a scenario in which Democrats are outmaneuvered nationally by Republican mid-decade redistricting. Supporters have even gotten high-profile national public figures like AOC to appear in ads.
Opponents to Prop 50 counter that it undermines the will of California voters who approved an independent redistricting commission in 2008 and 2010 explicitly to prevent this type of partisan gamesmanship that puts party advantage over meaningful representation.
Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called the measure “insane.” Jeanne Raya, a Democrat and first chair of the independent redistricting commission, says party gain can’t come “at the expense of California’s Constitution” or a voter mandate for “fair, nonpartisan redistricting.”
No on Prop 50 is being spearheaded by California businessman, experimental physicist, and election reform advocate Dr. Charles Munger Jr, who pushed for independent redistricting when it was on the statewide ballot 15 years ago.
Munger has provided the bulk of funding for No on 50 – which trails behind contributions to Yes on 50 after megadonor George Soros cut a check for $10 million. According to Ballotpedia, supporters are outspending opponents by an overwhelming margin.
Total contributions in this election will soon surpass $100 million.
Still, Geevarghese frames the contest in stark terms, emphasizing grassroots organizing over big money (regardless of where the big money is actually going). “Republican billionaires may have the money, but we have the people," he said.
He added that the stakes “could not be any higher.”
For voters, the decision will come down to which vision of fair representation they trust more – one managed by a citizen-led independent commission supported by most Californians or one steered by partisan lawmakers who are solely focused on who controls Congress.