BALLOTS FOR A STATEWIDE special election on congressional redistricting have started to be mailed to registered voters in San Francisco, and other Bay Area cities and counties will start mailing ballots Monday.
The election asks voters to consider Proposition 50, which would suspend congressional district lines drawn by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission until 2030 and replace them with new district maps that were created to give Democrats an advantage in the state in response to Texas lawmakers redrawing its districts to give Republicans an electoral advantage.
Congressional district lines are usually redrawn every 10 years after the results of the U.S. Census. The next Census isn’t until 2030, but Texas lawmakers redrew the state’s lines after an explicit request from President Donald Trump to give Republicans an advantage in the 2026 midterms. One Texas lawmaker said Republicans redrew the lines over Democratic objections “because we can.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom responded by calling for California to do the same to give Democrats an advantage in the state. But unlike Texas, where lawmakers have the power to redraw lines, California amended its constitution in 2010 to transfer that authority to an independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, something House Speaker Mike Johnson said would prevent California from countering Texas’ move.
If passed, Prop. 50 would again amend the state constitution to suspend the commission’s maps for the next two congressional elections.
San Francisco’s Department of Elections will open its in-person voting center at City Hall on Monday. Voters can vote in person outside room 48, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The voting center will be closed on Monday, Oct. 13 for Indigenous Peoples’ Day and will be open on the weekend prior to election day, Nov. 1-2, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
In-person voting hours will be extended on Election Day, Nov. 4, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., when 100 polling places will be open around the city, the Department of Elections said in a news release.
Ballots can also be dropped off at any official drop box.
“Our goal is to make voting accessible, convenient, and inclusive for every San Franciscan,” said Department of Elections Director John Arntz. “Whether voters choose to cast their ballots by mail, at their neighborhood polling place, or here at City Hall, we want them to feel confident that they will be able to participate in this election in the way that works best for them.”