MENDOCINO CO., 11/4/25 – On a cloudy, dreary day at the Mendocino County elections office, the atmosphere was calm as voters trickled in Tuesday morning to turn in their ballots for the special election on Proposition 50.
Prop. 50 asks voters whether to approve congressional redistricting that could favor Democrats in the 2026 midterm election.
If the measure passes, the new map could lead to five new Democratic seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. The new congressional lines would override the existing map drawn by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission, a nonpartisan group that sets boundaries for congressional and state-level districts. If the measure passes, the commission would resume drawing congressional maps in 2030, after the U.S. Census.
Prop. 50 was put on the ballot by Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democrats in the California Legislature in response to President Donald Trump’s push to redraw congressional lines in Texas.
Katrina Bartolomie, the county’s assessor-clerk-recorder, said that while voters have been visiting the polling station at the elections office and dropping ballots at the drop box outside, it’s been a relatively calm day compared to other elections.
“The phones have been pretty quiet today,” she said in an interview at the county elections office.
She noted that since there’s only one measure to vote on, there have been less questions from community members about how to fill out their ballots. Bartolomie noted that people have occasionally called in about where to submit a ballot and how to replace their ballot.
“We do still get calls about how to vote and where to vote,” she said.
Mario Nuñez, a 22-year-old Ukiah resident, dropped off his ballot at the county elections office drop box outside the building. Nuñez said that he thinks it’s important to fight against the gerrymandering that was enacted in Texas.
“With everything that happened in Texas, I think that having this option for people to vote on what Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing is an important idea, so there’s equality and fairness,” he said after he finished dropping off his ballot. “I think you should go vote, there’s so much at stake. Using your voice to vote on something that matters is important.”
Nuñez said he believes young people should participate more actively in elections.
“I feel like not voting is not only irresponsible, but a little privileged. If you think it’s not going to affect you, you have the wrong idea of what is going to happen,” he added.
Matthew Hale, an older Ukiah resident, spoke about his support for President Donald Trump and said he wanted to show up for him in the special election.
“I voted on his behalf,” Hale said just after voting. “I like what he has done. He has good leadership, and I like the way he presents himself.”
According to Bartolomie, as of around 10:50 a.m. Tuesday, an estimated 21,000 ballots had been collected by the elections office.
Polls close at 8 p.m. The last day for county elections offices to certify election results is Dec. 4.
Newsom just gerrymandered you stupid Democrats into voting for him and what he wanted once more. Regardless of what he does he will not win and he will never be the president of the United States