Bay Area voters rolled into polling places Tuesday morning with the weight of national politics on their shoulders, facing a special election launched by California Democrats’ desire to check President Donald Trump’s power.
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Most local voters only have one measure on their ballot: Proposition 50, which asks Californians if the state should redraw its House districts. The new boundaries would replace California’s current congressional maps with maps created to favor Democrats and counter moves by Republican-controlled states that have drawn maps to favor their party.
“I like sticking it to Texas,” said Oakland voter Elliott Williams after he cast his ballot at the Parks Chapel AME Church. “Gerrymandering is mutually assured destruction. I don’t love it but it is what we have to do.”
The redistricting battle began in Texas, when the Trump administration pressured lawmakers there to redraw their maps. The Legislature there this year designed and passed maps intended to increase the number of Republican-held districts from 25 to 30. The state has 38 districts total. Unlike California, Texas law didn’t require asking voters to approve the changes.
“We have to do something,” said Patricia Smith, 76, of Hayes Valley after voting at San Francisco City Hall. “We need to do something to get him out.”…