AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
A big election concludes Tuesday in California. Voters there are weighing whether to allow Democratic state leaders to redraw congressional lines before next year's midterm elections. A new map would make five House seats more favorable to Democrats, offsetting new Republican districts in Texas. NPR's Ashley Lopez asked voters in Southern California what they make of the plan.
ASHLEY LOPEZ, BYLINE: There is only one item on the ballot for this election - Proposition 50. The measure directly calls out Texas and asks voters to allow state leaders to temporarily bypass an independent redistricting commission that voters approved about 15 years ago. And while this puts voters in the weird position of undermining something they approved, many voters say they don't remember how they voted back then.
ADELAIDE STONE VAN GESSEL: I do not really remember voting for it, but I - I'm pretty sure I did.
KATHY BREWER: I don't remember. You know, we dive in when it's time to vote on something, and then other stuff comes up, right?
JIM LIND: I have trouble with yesterday.
LOPEZ: That was Adelaide Stone Van Gessel, Kathy Brewer and Jim Lind. Lind lives in Irvine and voted in favor of the new measure Prop 50, but he says he does have mixed feelings about allowing the state to gerrymander the congressional map to help one party.
LIND: I wish we didn't have to get to this point, but we need to do something in this country to counteract some of the stuff that's being done in the White House.
LOPEZ: A lot of yes-voters use this same language. They said their main objective is to counteract efforts in Republican states like Texas to redraw congressional districts. This is an effort, by the way, that was prompted by President Trump.
About 30 minutes east of Irvine, surrounded by mountains is Santa Rancho Margarita. Though the city is one of Orange County's conservative strongholds, many Democrats showed up to the public library to vote yes for Prop 50. Eva Hernandez was one of those voters.
EVA HERNANDEZ: I'm like, well, you know, we got to do something. You can't just sit back, let things roll like they've been rolling. So it's disturbing, you know? But California's got to do it. We're a blue state. We got to do what we got to do to counteract that.
LOPEZ: Polling shows that Prop 50 is likely to pass in California. None of the opposition's arguments against it is truly landing in a state that is overwhelmingly Democratic. Kathy Brewer did, however, vote no. She lives in Rancho Santa Margarita and thinks this election and redraw are unnecessary.
BREWER: Off the top of my head, I'm going to say it's a waste of money, of good California money that we need.
LOPEZ: Betty Roth is another no vote. She says that as a Republican, she already feels pretty powerless in the state. Out of the 52 seats California has in the U.S. House, only nine are held by Republicans. Roth says she doesn't want the GOP to lose what little representation they have.
BETTY ROTH: They're trying to take away the vote from a good portion of the American people by, you know, gerrymandering.
LOPEZ: But a lot of Democratic voters don't feel much sympathy for this argument. Aaron Leal, who lives in this conservative enclave, says Republicans are trying to rig the midterms in their favor because they aren't sure they can win on policy. He says the party is practically forcing Democrats to react.
AARON LEAL: If one side is going full force pushing their agenda, we cannot bring, as they say, like, a knife to a gun fight.
LOPEZ: Leal says he also likes that the measure is temporary.
LEAL: In 2030, it's going to go back to the original independent commission. If Texas had not passed their map, this would not have happened here.
LOPEZ: Besides giving Democrats a better shot during the midterms, this special election in California has also provided the party an opportunity to assert the little power they have to directly combat President Trump. Polling shows the Democratic base has been frustrated with their leaders, mostly because they haven't been able to do much. David Checel is one of those voters. He lives in Culver City in the Los Angeles area.
DAVID CHECEL: The Democrats haven't really fought back and done anything to combat what's going on with the Republican party and Trump. Yeah. I don't know what you're supposed to do in this, and I'm glad I'm not a politician.
LOPEZ: Checel says he wasn't thrilled about Prop 50, but he voted in favor of it because it's better than doing nothing, he says. Back in Irvine, Jim Lind says he agrees with this sentiment, but he says he's also pretty sad that this is what politics has become.
LIND: I guess it's unfortunate that any party, whatever it may be, has to stoop to a lower level to get things done. All my life, I've probably been more idealistic as far as the honesty of people, and it's just not working out.
LOPEZ: And this is partly why over and over voters said what they actually want is for no state to be able to gerrymander districts to favor one party. Many said Congress should pass a ban on the practice altogether.
Ashley Lopez, NPR News.
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