LOS ANGELES — Adelaide Stone Van Gessel says she doesn't agree with partisan gerrymandering in practice.
But she voted yes on Proposition 50, a California ballot measure that would allow the state's Democratic leaders to temporarily bypass California's independent redistricting commission and enact a more Democratic-friendly congressional map ahead of next year's midterm elections.
Van Gessel and others who back Prop 50 told NPR the proposal provides the Democratic-leaning state a rare opportunity to directly counteract President Trump and Republican efforts to redraw political maps in their favor in other states.
"What we're doing is gerrymandering to stop gerrymandering," she said. "And that's not really the best solution, but it is something that we find ourselves in this kind of environment having to do."
Voting for the one-issue special election concludes Tuesday, with polling showing that Prop 50 is likely to pass. If it does, California's Democratic state leaders can use a new congressional map that makes five U.S. House seats more favorable to the party, offsetting the five districts Republicans shifted their direction in Texas earlier this year.
GOP lawmakers in Missouri and North Carolina have also enacted new maps, and a bipartisan deal reached last week in Ohio tilts that state's congressional map further to the right. Lawmakers in other states, including Virginia Democrats, could join the redistricting fight.
In Southern California, many left-leaning voters approving Prop 50 reported having mixed feelings about the measure, but ultimately felt that allowing a partisan gerrymander is one of the only options they have to stop Trump from shutting out a Democratic win in Congress next year.
"We can't play the game like decent people anymore," said Stephanie Eberstein, who, like Van Gessel, lives in the liberal LA neighborhood of Venice. "I mean, those rules are out the window. So, we have to do what we have to do."
In Orange County, Eva Hernandez agrees.
"We got to do something," Hernandez said. "Can't just sit back and let things roll like they've been rolling. … California's got to do it. We're a blue state. We got to do what we got to do to counteract that."
Republican voters in California fear losing representation
With surveys showing Prop 50 likely to be approved, it appears none of the opposition's arguments against the measure is truly landing in a state that is strongly Democratic.
A number of voters told NPR they're focused on the current proposal, and could not recall how they voted about 15 years ago, when the state's citizen-led, nonpartisan redistricting commission was enacted.
Kathy Brewer voted no on Prop 50. She lives in Rancho Santa Margarita, one of a few GOP-leaning enclaves in Southern California. She told NPR she thinks this special election and redraw are unnecessary.
"It's a waste of money," she said. "Of good California money that we need."
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 currently held by Republicans. Roth says she doesn't want the GOP to lose what little representation it has.
"They're trying to take away the vote from a good portion of the American people by, you know, gerrymandering," she said.
But a lot of Democratic voters don't feel much sympathy for this argument.
Aaron Leal, who also lives in Rancho Santa Margarita, 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.
"If one side is going full force pushing their agenda, we cannot bring, as they say, like a knife to a gunfight," he said.
Leal says he also likes that the measure is temporary. After 2030, the state would go back to the independent redistricting commission.
"Somebody has to do something"
Polling shows the Democratic base has been largely frustrated with their leaders — mostly because they haven't been able to do much.
"The Democrats haven't really fought back and done anything to combat what's going on with the Republican Party and Trump," said David Checel in Culver City. "So, yeah. I don't know what you're supposed to do on this, and I'm glad I'm not a politician."
Checel wasn't thrilled about Prop 50 but voted in favor of it because it's better than doing nothing, he said.
Other Democrats say they are really excited to see their leaders fight back, including Reina Santiago in Venice.
"I'm glad that our state is taking the charge against this because somebody has to do something," she said. "The GOP is totally complicit with Trump, and if we let them walk all over us, they'll do it. So that's what this vote is about."
And while Jim Lind, who lives in Irvine, agrees with this sentiment, he said he's also pretty sad that this is what politics has become.
"It's unfortunate that any party, whatever it may be, has to stoop to a lower level to get things done," he said. "You know, all my life I've probably been more idealistic as far as the honesty of people. And it's just not working out."
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