California Prop 50 ballot measure passes, securing redistricting plans for 2026

California voters have approved a new congressional map drawn by state Democrats, NBC News projects, giving the party the chance to gain up to five House seats in next year’s midterm elections and counter Republican redistricting efforts in other states

California voters have approved a new congressional map drawn by state Democrats, NBC News projects, giving the party the chance to gain up to five House seats in next year’s midterm elections and counter Republican redistricting efforts in other states.

The approval of the ballot measure allows California Democrats to temporarily circumvent the independent commission that typically controls the redistricting process and enact a more partisan map. The green light from voters will help Democrats limit, but not eliminate, the political disadvantage they’re set to face in the 2026 elections after Republicans in several other states, most notably Texas, redrew maps this year to boost their party.

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In addition to Texas, where the GOP hopes to gain an additional five House seats under new district lines, Republicans in Missouri and North Carolina have passed maps designed to net the party a new seat in each state. A mandatory redraw in Ohio could also benefit Republicans. And President Donald Trump has continued to push GOP-led states like Indiana and Kansas to help shore up the party’s narrow House majority.

While some Democratic governors and lawmakers are trying to redraw their maps, too, they face additional legal and procedural hurdles that aren’t present in red states because many of them ceded the power to redistrict in recent years to independent or bipartisan commissions.