Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas and a group of Los Angeles County Democratic legislators Thursday attempted to turn opposition to the Trump administration’s efforts against illegal immigration into support for Proposition 50, the congressional redistricting measure on the Nov. 4 ballot.
Prop 50 is a proposal to temporarily redraw California’s congressional district lines in an effort to create more Democratic seats in the House — an effort Gov. Gavin Newsom says will offset a similar move in Texas designed to create more Republican seats.
The legislators conducted a news conference at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College south of downtown to “call for Angelenos to vote yes on Proposition 50 and stop Trump’s attacks on LA’s immigrants and economy,” according to Rivas’ office.
“In just a matter of days this special election will be your opportunity to stand up for Los Angeles and protect American democracy,” Rivas said. “By now, we know what President Trump will do to our country if we let him. Donald Trump wants to be a tyrant. He thinks the rules don’t apply to him or his friends.
“And he will not stop unless someone stops him. Los Angeles — we can be the ones who stop him. But only … only if we seize this moment. A yes on Proposition 50 blocks Donald Trump’s takeover of Congress,” Rivas added.
Rivas, D-Hollister, was joined by Assemblymembers Lisa Calderon, D-Whittier; Jessica Caloza, D-East Los Angeles; Juan Carrillo, D-Palmdale; Sade Elhawary, D-South Los Angeles; Mike Fong, D-Alhambra; John Harabedian, D-Pasadena; Tina McKinnor, D-Inglewood; Nick Schultz, D-Burbank; and Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas, D-Los Angeles.
In addition to criticizing the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration, the Democrats also cited reducing spending on health care and other actions taken by the administration.
“We believe that everyone, everyone deserves a seat at the table,” Rivas said. “We believe that power must flow from the people — not through intimidation and not through fear.”
Attorney General Rob Bonta and Secretary of State Shirley Weber also led a news conference Thursday morning at the California Department of Justice’s downtown Los Angeles office to remind Californians about their voting rights and encourage them to vote early.
The secretary of state is California’s top election official, and the attorney general enforces the state’s election laws to ensure free and fair elections.
“You can vote as soon as you receive your ballot, and ballots are being mailed shortly,” Bonta said. “You can vote in the manner that works best for you. One option is by mail. County elections officials must begin mailing each registered voter a vote-by-ballot by Monday, Oct. 6.”
Early in-person voting starts Oct. 25. The deadline to register is Oct. 20.
Bonta added that it’s important for voters to send their ballot as soon as possible if they choose to vote-by-mail.
“Due to a change in the United States Postal Services policies, mail-in-ballots in some communities will not be postmarked the day they are mailed, but will instead be postmarked a day later,” Bonta said. “That means if those voters drop their ballot off at a US Postal Service, mailbox or post office on Election Day, it won’t be postmarked until the next day, and it will not be counted.”
“This will be true for any community that is more than 50 miles from one of California’s six regional mail processing facilities,” Bonta added.
Prop 50 would establish new congressional district maps for 2026, 2028 and 2030. An analysis by the election news website Ballotpedia said it would shift five Republican-held congressional districts toward Democrats.
Democrats already hold a 43-9 advantage in the state’s House delegation.
The measure came in response to an effort in Texas for a mid-decade congressional redistricting that analysts said would give Republicans five additional seats. Other Republican-controlled states such as Florida, Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, New Hampshire, Nebraska and South Carolina are also considering efforts to approve mid-decade redistricting.
Backers of the measure say it “draws fair maps that represent California’s diverse communities and ensure our voices aren’t silenced by Republican gerrymandering in other states.”
Opponents say Prop 50 “creates one of the most extreme partisan gerrymanders in modern American history” and is a “threat to democracy and fair elections in California,” according to the campaign against the measure.