State Committee Statement on CA Redistricting
California DSA delegates, representing chapters from across the state, overwhelmingly voted to endorse California’s Prop 50, the Election Rigging Response Act. This act was passed by the CA state legislature in response to Texas Republicans’ efforts to further gerrymander their district lines, adding five more congressional seats for their fascist project.
Prop 50 implements new maps that redraw California’s congressional districts to eliminate five seats currently held by Republicans. This will not overturn or abolish California’s Citizens Redistricting Commission and the maps instituted by Prop 50 will be overridden after the 2030 Census by new, Commission-drawn, maps.
In an ideal world, our elections would continue fairly, free from interference or moneyed interests, and proportional representation would ensure our districts cannot be drawn to benefit one political party or another at the expense of workers. We do not live in that world yet.
This world, one where Republicans have gerrymandered their states to ensure GOP dominance of Congress, is the world we are in. Labor unions are intervening to support Prop 50 to fight back against this fascist expansion, and we have an opportunity to join in coordination with them and begin proactively building a left-labor pole in our state politics. As socialists, we must always take seriously our battle to win the world the working class deserves. In a world where Donald Trump and a fascist Republican party maintain control of Congress, the judiciary, and the presidency, that battle becomes much more treacherous, and the world we are all fighting for gets much farther away.
We have already seen what eight months of Trump’s fascist project yields. Our families and communities are being assaulted, kidnapped, and deported daily. Unions are under attack, public servants discarded, and our public institutions sold to the highest bidder. Our cities are taken over by our own military and our planet continues to burn, both from American bombs and the escalating impact of climate change.
It is imperative, then, that we support using whatever tools necessary to stop the growth of this fascist, Christian nationalist movement in the United States. In posing a threat to Republicans’ grip on federal power, Prop 50 could have a real impact on the lives of immigrants, trans people, and the working class as a whole. We cannot cede this part of the fight against fascism and leave the center to lead it alone.
This redistricting effort is such a significant shake up in the failed political strategy of the Democratic Party that, if seized, it could provide an opening for clear-eyed democratic socialist analysis that charts out a better path -- one with multimember districts, proportional representation, political pluralism, and a real opportunity for working people to shape the political direction of our society. Changes in district composition could also allow for DSA to contest these seats in the future by running socialist candidates for Congress.
With this endorsement, California DSA commits to
Recommending Californians vote for Prop 50 on November 4th.
Creating materials with socialist analysis and messaging that our chapters can use to discuss redistricting with their members and communities.
Hosting a webinar in partnership with labor unions that articulates a democratic socialist analysis of our broken political system and seeks to strengthen our relationship with the labor movement.
If you are not in DSA yet, we need you. Join today and get involved with our statewide organization or in your local chapter’s work. In the leadup to midterm elections in 2026, a potential general strike in 2028, and the 2028 presidential election, this moment is ours to seize. It is not an exaggeration to say our futures depend on it.
