‘Democracy is truly at stake’: Fresno County voters amid early Prop 50 polls

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – Early in-person voting started on Oct. 25 ahead of California’s special election on Nov. 4 regarding Proposition 50. Nine different locations opened between Fresno, Clovis, Sanger, and Selma on Saturday. 

“Pay attention to what’s happening politically and come out and vote,” Fresno resident Dina Jackson said.

Folks at the Woodward Park Regional Library are ready to exercise their right to vote.

“Democracy is truly at stake,” Jackson said.

“If you don’t vote, you lose your rights. Very simple,” voter Dean Myers said.

“It’s a privilege to vote and we should all do it. Our forefathers fought hard for that,” Fresno resident Susie Billington said.

Folks at that voting location in North Fresno said it’s convenient to cast ballots close to home.

“I come to this library a lot. I use their computers and scanning services. So I was aware, you know, just from my usual trips here,” Jackson said.

“I live around the corner, so. Yeah, very convenient,” Billington said.

Proposition 50 is the only ballot item. It would authorize temporary changes to the state congressional maps. If passed, it would help democrats pick up seats in the House in response to Texas Republicans’ redistricting efforts. Opponents say Prop 50 would do more damage than good.

“I think people need to read, understand it, study it and make their decision,” Jackson said.

Voters shared where they sided on the issue.

“I would say in general, um, I’m probably gonna vote against it. I pay a lot of money in taxes and I work very hard and I see a lot of it go to waste. And that makes me sad,” Billington said.

“It’s hijacking my right to vote. And in the way there, we already have a constitutional amendment for it,” Myers said.

Although election day is over a week away, some said it’s best not to procrastinate.

“This is kind of a popular site for voting. But it hasn’t been too heavy so far. Probably in the next couple of days, it’ll be a lot heavier,” Jackson said.