Gerrymandering: Can two wrongs make a right?

Author: Jon Mahoney

A review of the controversial Proposition 50 vote in California on November 4th, 2025 

On November 4th, 2025, Californians will head to the ballot box to vote on Proposition 50, a controversial law that will allow the democratically controlled government to redraw district lines in an effort to gain six democratic seats in Congress during the 2026 midterm elections through a process called gerrymandering. To gerrymander is to “manipulate the boundaries of (an electoral constituency) so as to favor one party or class” (Dictionary.com). The controversy lies in the fact that states historically redraw districts after census data is collected, a count of the US population, at the turn of each decade. We are still 5 years away from the next census, so a mid-decade redistricting is entirely unprecedented. Another reason Prop 50 is controversial is that the people of California voted in 2008 and again in 2010 to have an independent redistricting commission. This ensures that those in charge of redistricting the state are using population data to determine district lines rather than political favorability. So why would California take this drastic redistricting measure? 

The decision is in direct retaliation to Texas passing its own redistricting plan. After a long holdout by Texas democrats, having fled the state to avoid a vote on the issue, Texas politicians passed a bill that could potentially give the state 5 more Republican representatives in Congress. Many democrats accuse Texas of acting on the behest of Donald Trump, in his effort to retain Republican control of Congress in 2026 and to potentially mount a bid for a run at a third term as President of the United States.

Polls show that most democrats, as well as many independent and republican voters, are against gerrymandering. The majority of Californians believe that an independent redistricting commission to determine districts is the best democratic way to ensure the power of the people. For many Californians, a vote yes on Proposition 50 would mean sacrificing one's values and reveal a level of hypocrisy that is difficult to reckon. "It doesn't make any sense to me that because we have to fight Trump, to become Trump," [former governor, Arnold] Schwarzenegger said. ‘Two wrongs don't make a right’" (ABC). We are taught as children not to hit back, but this feels very much like a child crying to his mom, ‘but he hit me first!’

The danger of Proposition 50 is that it could create a snowball effect where every state redraws their voting district maps to counter one another. If this were to be the case are we, the citizens, actually selecting the people to represent us in government as part of our Constitutional right? Proponents of Proposition 50 will argue that this is a necessary wrong to counter the wrong committed by Texas republicans. Maybe this is a temporary solution to reign in Donald Trump’s power grab. But it may also be just another step in the gradual deconstruction of our democracy.