California Passes Prop 50, redistricting their districts in a countermeasure to Texas’s failed redistricting attempts. Photo courtesy of Drei Kubik on Unsplash.

In November, California voters passed the proposed redistricting of state districts with a 64.4% majority. Proposition 50 was passed in response to the Republican Party’s attempt to redistrict many districts in Texas, changing congressional districts in a beneficial way for the Democratic Party in California.

Gavin Newsom, California’s Democratic Governor, declared a victory in a speech upon hearing the news, stating that he is “Proud. But I’m very mindful and sober of the moment we are living in. Donald Trump does not believe in fair and free elections, period and full stop.” This comes after he urged many other democratic leaders to redistrict their own states.

Many are celebrating this pass as a victory and view it as a result of the democrats “fight” against Trump. While this was necessary, it shouldn’t have been in the first place.

It is in my opinion that one of the biggest problems in the American political system would be the two-party system. The way that this system is perpetuated is through the first-past-the-post (FPTP) victory system the United States enforces, and that the vote of American citizens is greatly reduced or enhanced depending on where one lives (see: How to fix American Democracy). Districts with these systems disadvantage the voters in such a way that guarantees one party having a victory, also known as tyranny.

Despite having good reasons to redistrict, California has only perpetuated an undemocratic system and is currently participating in the exact same authoritarianism they have denounced in Trump’s regime.

It is important to note though, that the blame should not be placed only upon California. The Texas redistricting called for by President Trump is the main reason that California even considered their own proposal. Texas historically has had gerrymandered districts. Despite having 8.1 million Democrats and 6.6 million Republicans, the state has been Republican controlled for many, many years.

Redistricting to secure districts for one party is inherently undemocratic and should not be encouraged, no matter what party/ideology. I blame Trump and Newsom for encouraging these efforts, and while I am in support of the positive outcome of this redistricting, I am heavily against the possibility of increasing the number of districts that contribute to massive voter inequality, which is a virus that affects most of the United States.