Hollywood superstar and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently made a public appeal to voters to reject Proposition 50 in the upcoming November elections. He stated that the redistricting plan outlined in the proposal would erode democratic principles and allow politicians to “strip power from the people”.
In a Monday event in Southern California, Schwarzenegger strongly opposed Proposition 50, calling it a “crazy” agenda. “I don’t want to talk politics here, but this is not about politics, it’s about democracy,” he said. “If you vote in favor, we will regress.”
Last month, Schwarzenegger publicly expressed his strong opposition to Proposition 50 on social media. In a post, he wrote, “I am gearing up for the battle against unfair district lines.” Accompanied by a photo of himself wearing a T-shirt with the words “Terminate Gerrymandering”.
In 2008, California voters approved a constitutional amendment through a referendum, transferring redistricting authority to the politically neutral California Citizens Redistricting Commission. According to the state law amendment passed by voters, the California legislature and governor have no power to participate in redistricting.
However, in a bid to advance the agenda favorable to the Democratic Party, current California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill on August 21 authorizing a statewide referendum. Prior to this, the state legislature swiftly passed the referendum at a special meeting convened by Newsom.
This controversial Proposition 50 seeks to set aside the district maps developed by the independent commission and replace them with maps redrawn by Democrats, redistributing congressional districts to benefit Democratic candidates. In other words, the state legislature aims to regain control over district delineation.
Schwarzenegger thus argued that this proposition would undermine California’s commitment to fair and nonpartisan redistricting.
Currently, the California Democratic delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives holds 43 seats, while Republicans only have 9 seats. If Proposition 50 is passed, it could potentially increase the Democratic Party’s congressional seats in California by 5, while strengthening the advantage of incumbent Democratic lawmakers in other fiercely contested districts.
As it stands, unless there is effective judicial intervention, California voters will head to the polls on November 4 (less than 50 days away) to decide whether to authorize the replacement of redistricting maps favoring the Democratic Party. California Democrats argue that Proposition 50 aims to “retaliate” against Texas’ Republican-favorable congressional redistricting plan.
Many experts point out that if state governments unilaterally redraw district lines to maximize each party’s interests, election results will no longer represent the will of the people, effectively depriving voters of their voting and electoral rights.
Schwarzenegger emphasized, “The preamble of the Constitution is ‘We, the people’, not ‘we, the politicians’.”