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canyonwalkerI voted today. Yes, it's a day early. Election Day is tomorrow— Tuesday, November 4. But one of the nice things about California is that the state offers registered voters numerous ways to vote, including dropping off a ballot in a signed, sealed envelope at ballot drop-boxes in convenient places like my local library.
This year's ballot was pretty short. There were only 3 items: a statewide proposition, a county officer race, and a county proposition.
The statewide proposition is Prop 50, The Election Rigging Response Act. It allows a one-time, mid-decade redrawing of Congressional districts and specifies that it will be done by politicians instead of California's non-partisan redistricting commission.
I have always been a big supporter of non-partisan redistricting. I gladly voted for it when California passed it years ago, and I have urged that the practice be adopted elsewhere. But the situation is different in 2025. Whereas gerrymandering used to be something that politicians did but didn't admit to, it's now something that President Trump openly calls for in the national media— and his followers not only don't criticize but eagerly line up to do. If we on the political left want any chance at a majority in Congress— via representation that is commensurate with our popular vote— we must do as the other side is already doing.
One of the simple/simplistic arguments against Prop 50 I've seen is the line, "All it takes to end gerrymandering is for one side to stop doing it first." What a fucking idiot the person who said that is. One side did stop it first. One side did it first, and the other side went the opposite direction and raised their art of electoral manipulation to new heights with modern technology.
So now I'm voting for something that's against my preferences. It's against my preferences but it's still the least bad option. (Also, we're not giving up the preferable option— nonpartisan redistricting— for good. We're just making a one-time exception.)
Speaking of least bad options, the one county-wide race, the one for Tax Assessor, is also one where I picked the least bad option. Not that there was anything actually bad about the candidate I voted for, but the others all did/said things that are disqualifying bad IMO.
This year's ballot was pretty short. There were only 3 items: a statewide proposition, a county officer race, and a county proposition.
The statewide proposition is Prop 50, The Election Rigging Response Act. It allows a one-time, mid-decade redrawing of Congressional districts and specifies that it will be done by politicians instead of California's non-partisan redistricting commission.
I have always been a big supporter of non-partisan redistricting. I gladly voted for it when California passed it years ago, and I have urged that the practice be adopted elsewhere. But the situation is different in 2025. Whereas gerrymandering used to be something that politicians did but didn't admit to, it's now something that President Trump openly calls for in the national media— and his followers not only don't criticize but eagerly line up to do. If we on the political left want any chance at a majority in Congress— via representation that is commensurate with our popular vote— we must do as the other side is already doing.
One of the simple/simplistic arguments against Prop 50 I've seen is the line, "All it takes to end gerrymandering is for one side to stop doing it first." What a fucking idiot the person who said that is. One side did stop it first. One side did it first, and the other side went the opposite direction and raised their art of electoral manipulation to new heights with modern technology.
So now I'm voting for something that's against my preferences. It's against my preferences but it's still the least bad option. (Also, we're not giving up the preferable option— nonpartisan redistricting— for good. We're just making a one-time exception.)
Speaking of least bad options, the one county-wide race, the one for Tax Assessor, is also one where I picked the least bad option. Not that there was anything actually bad about the candidate I voted for, but the others all did/said things that are disqualifying bad IMO.
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Date: 2025-11-04 04:34 pm (UTC)The Gerrymandering Wars - I hate it but I can't disagree.