The Marin County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution Tuesday in support of Proposition 50, also known as the Election Rigging Response Act.
The measure, which California voters will decide in a special election Nov. 4, would temporarily shift the authority to change California’s congressional maps from an independent commission to the state Legislature through 2030. Marin County’s resolution follows similar actions by the boards of supervisors in San Mateo, San Francisco and Monterey counties.
Prop. 50 was initiated in August by Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state Legislature in response to redistricting done by the Texas governor and Legislature ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. The new Texas maps are predicted to add five Republican-leaning U.S. House of Representatives seats to Texas and remove five Democratic seats.
Prop. 50’s proposed maps aim to offset those numbers in Congress by adding five Democratic-leaning districts in California. If the voters decide to accept Prop. 50, the new districts will be effective in time for the 2026 midterm elections and stay in effect through the 2028 presidential election. In 2030, when the next Census is taken, the power to draw congressional districts would return to the independent commission.
The proposition also includes symbolic language calling on Congress to require “fair, independent and nonpartisan redistricting commissions nationwide,” a statement that has no legal impact.
“We are really up against it,” said Marin County Supervisor Stephanie Moulton-Peters, referring to the redistricting in Texas. “And we have got to do something to even the playing field. I appreciate that in 2030 this will revert back to an independent citizens committee. I think that’s very important, and I hope other states follow.”
Marin County’s congressional district would grow
Currently, Marin County is entirely part of California’s District 2, represented by U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman, a Democrat whose district extends into the North Coast. The proposed Prop. 50 map would expand District 2 to reach into the northeast corner of the state.
According to an interactive map on the website of the California State Assembly Committee on Elections, the proposed new District 2 would include 760,065 people and 75% are voting age. Ten percent are Hispanic and 80% are white. The new District 2 would include the counties of Marin, Mendocino, Trinity, Humbolt, Del Norte, Siskiyou, Modoc, Shasta and Sonoma.
“It is necessary that we take this action,” said Supervisor Dennis Rodoni. “I was having a conversation with constituents on Saturday, and I brought up the metaphor that sometimes you have to deal with the hand you’ve been dealt, and this is the case here where we don’t really have a lot of choice in my mind. Moving forward, it just makes total sense.”
Currently, the House of Representatives has 219 Republican representatives and 213 Democrats, and California has 52 districts. Redistricting is typically done after a Census, which is done at the end of each decade.
The special election will incur no costs for local election offices and have no impact on the county budget, according to Talia Smith, Marin County interim deputy county executive, who presented to the board Tuesday. The Legislature and governor have allocated $250 million in the current year’s state budget to fully cover the costs statewide, she said.
“I should note that the actions in Texas were done with the Texas Legislature and governor and were not put to voters in Texas,” said Smith. “However, in California, Proposition 50 is being put to voters.”
In most states, the legislature draws the maps, but in California, voters in 2010 handed this authority to an independent Citizens Redistricting Commission. The commission is made up of 14 members — five Democrats, five Republicans and four independents. By law, the commission is meant to remove partisanship and keep “communities of interest” together. After the 2030 census, authority for redrawing congressional maps would return to the independent commission.
Raising the stakes
Opponents argue that Prop. 50 undermines the integrity of the independent redistricting commission and warn that making mid-cycle changes could set a precedent for sidestepping the independent process, according to Smith. Opponents include Republican leaders and former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, she said.
“Recently your board heard a report on H.R 1, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which was going to have, and has already, had significant consequences for safety net supports here in Marin County and statewide,” said Smith. “That bill alone is expected to cost the state of California $30 billion in lost federal revenue. The implications being a major scaling back of the Affordable Care Act provisions and expansions in the safety net under that law, and to additional federal programs such as food stamps.
She said, “That bill passed 218 to 214 in the House of Representatives, under very narrow margins with unanimous Democratic opposition. So, we do know that control of the Congress has very important impacts on your board’s priorities. I expect between now, and the special election, a number of other boards of supervisors will consider also taking positions on this ballot measure.”
Proposed congressional maps can be found on the state Assembly’s website.
