Hundreds of voters arrived at the Orange County Election Center on the evening of Tuesday, November 4th, just before 8 p.m., to personally cast their votes for California’s Proposition 50, some even driving to drop off their mail-in ballots in the ballot boxes. Since October 6th, when the Secretary of State started mailing out ballots to voters, people have been able to vote in-person at the county election centers.
According to the Secretary of State’s office, all 58 counties in California must report their results by December 5th, with the Secretary of State set to certify the election results by December 12th. By 8:59 p.m. on Tuesday evening, the Secretary of State’s website had tallied 44.8% of the votes, showing preliminary results of 64.7% in favor and 35.3% against, with approximately 7 million ballots cast statewide.
In the special election for Proposition 50, the state government allocated nearly 300 million dollars from California taxpayers for the election expenses. A “Yes” vote supports amending state law to transfer redistricting power to the state legislature from 2026 to 2030, eliminating the redistricting map put forth by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission in 2021. A “No” vote opposes the amendment, maintaining the map drawn by the 14-member California Citizens Redistricting Commission until a new map is drawn after the 2030 census.
If the Proposition is passed, the state legislature will swiftly redraw the district map, giving Democrats a projected 48 out of 52 congressional seats, while Republicans maintain the advantage in the remaining 4 districts. Currently, 9 Republicans hold congressional seats. The counties in red on the map are those voting “Yes.”
Orange County opened 66 polling centers, with some opening 11 days early and others 4 days early, but many voters still chose to cast their ballots on the last day. As of 8:10 p.m., more than 160 voters were still waiting in line at the polling center where the reporter was present.
Teswell, a staff member, mentioned that he was last in line at 7:58 p.m., and those arriving after 8 p.m. were not allowed to join the queue. Pedro, the last in line, a young man, mentioned that he had to work two jobs and finished at 6 p.m., but rushed to vote as he hadn’t mailed in his ballot envelope. He used to vote at a different polling center previously.
One woman brought her daughter, waiting for her child’s sports team training to end before heading over. She remarked, “I guess I’m a last-minute person.” Another young woman mentioned that her elderly family member accidentally dirtied the ballot, preventing them from using the mail-in option and needing to visit the polling center.
When the reporter visited the center over the weekend, only a few voters were encountered, while the center’s staff worked from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
In California, Los Angeles County has over 5.74 million registered voters, accounting for approximately 25.4% of the total in the state. Despite 22 counties opposing Proposition 50 (highlighted in red on the map), their voter numbers were relatively low; the Democratic Party controls the urban and densely populated coastal areas.
Moreover, San Diego County has over 1.98 million registered voters, Orange County over 1.86 million, Riverside County over 1.37 million, San Bernardino County over 1.19 million, and Santa Clara County over 1.04 million, with the combined registered voters from these six counties exceeding half of California’s total registered voters.