Orange County voters join state majority in passing Prop. 50
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Proposition 50, a measure allowing for the redrawing of congressional districts in California, passed on Tuesday by a wide margin, with Orange County voters joining the statewide majority in supporting it.
The ballot measure, billed as a response to partisan redistricting in Texas, had secured 63.8% of nearly 8.1 million votes counted as of early Wednesday morning.
Gov. Gavin Newsom led a Democratic push to put Prop. 50 on the ballot. Its approval allows for new congressional district lines, designed to favor Democrats, in the 2026, 2028 and 2030 general elections. The state would then return to the practice of having the congressional district map drawn by a nonpartisan, independent redistricting commission.
The special election saw 744,241 votes cast in Orange County, representing a 39% turnout among registered voters. Prop. 50 was supported by 54.6% of the vote countywide, per data provided by the Orange County Registrar of Voters.
There were fewer voting centers opened than in general elections, which contributed to some lines at the polls.
Huntington Beach had the most voting centers among local cities with five, and Costa Mesa and Newport Beach each provided two. The Fountain Valley Recreation Center and the Laguna Beach Community and Susi Q Center were the only locations for residents to vote in person in their respective cities.
Prop. 50, California’s congressional redistricting measure, was on the ballot on a high-profile election day that saw Democratic wins in New York, New Jersey and elsewhere.
Republicans hold a slim majority over the Democrats, 219-212, in the U.S. House of Representatives. California currently has 43 Democrats and nine Republicans in the House. Prop. 50 places five Republican-held seats into competitive or easily-winnable territory for Democrats.
