Supervisors Decide Whether To Endorse Prop. 50 In Marin County

MARIN COUNTY, CA — The Marin County Board of Supervisors endorsed Proposition 50, also known as the Election Rigging Response Act, at their Tuesday meeting.

On Nov. 4, California voters will participate in a special election to determine if the power to redraw the state's congressional maps should temporarily shift from an independent commission to the state Legislature until 2030.

Prop 50, initiated by Gov. Newsom and the state Legislature in August, directly counters Texas's redistricting efforts for the 2026 midterms. The new Texas maps are expected to shift five U.S. House seats from Democratic to Republican.

Prop 50 proposes adding five Democratic-leaning districts in California, effective for the 2026 and 2028 elections. Redistricting power would return to an independent commission in 2030. The proposition also urges Congress to mandate fair, independent redistricting nationwide.

Marin County, currently in California's District 2 and represented by U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman, would join a larger proposed District 2 under Prop 50. This expanded district would include Marin, Mendocino, Trinity, Humboldt, Del Norte, Siskiyou, Modoc, Shasta, and Sonoma counties, covering 760,065 people.

Marin County interim deputy county executive Talia Smith said the special election will not cost local election offices or impact the county budget, as $250 million has been allocated in the current state budget to cover statewide costs.

In California, an independent Citizens Redistricting Commission of 14 members — five Democrats, five Republicans, four independents — has drawn congressional maps since 2010 to prevent partisanship and maintain communities of interest. This authority returns to them after the 2030 census. Most other states have legislatures draw their maps.

Republican leaders and former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger are among the opponents of Prop 50. They contend that the proposition threatens the integrity of the independent redistricting commission and could establish a precedent for circumventing the independent process.