Election Day: California voters decide on redrawing congressional maps

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Election Day is here. Voters in California will decide if the state’s congressional maps will be redrawn amid a national battle over which party controls the House of Representatives.

The results of Tuesday’s election will either be a major rejection of President Donald Trump’s agenda or a major stamp of approval.

Proposition 50, dubbed the “Election Rigging Response Act,” would redraw California’s congressional maps. It is Governor Gavin Newsom’s response to redistricting in Texas.

As of today, California has 52 seats in the House of Representatives, with 43 of those held by Democrats. If Prop 50 passes, the state could get up to five more Democratic seats.

The congressional maps are usually handled by an independent commission once a decade. Critics say two wrongs don’t make a right, and Prop 50 would silence the state’s more conservative voters from more rural areas like the Central Valley.

Polls are open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Vote-by-mail ballots can be returned by mail, or at a drop-off location or a county elections office. Vote-by-mail ballots must be postmarked on or before Election Day and received by Nov. 12.

Voters can find their polling places on the California Secretary of State website.