Californians overwhelmingly approve Prop 50, NBC News projects – NBC Los Angeles

Proposition 50, known as the “Election Rigging Response Act,” was overwhelmingly approved by voters Tuesday, according to an NBC News projection, as Californians gave the state government the green light to temporarily override the independent redistricting commission and replace the congressional map with new lines.

Despite criticism that Prop 50 is against the state constitution, there appeared to be a resounding yes to the proposal as NBC News was able to issue its projection within minutes after vote centers closed across the state. 

NBC News Exit Poll also showed more than half of California voters expressed their anger at President Trump’s actions on immigration.

Among the voters who cast their ballots on Prop 50, 64% said Trump’s actions went too far while 12% said the Trump administration has not gone far enough. And 60% of the California voters said Newsom should not cooperate with the White House, while 40% thought Newsom should work with Trump.

Prop 50 aims to help Democrats gain five seats in the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2026 midterm elections as a response to Republican districting efforts in Texas and other stations. 

As of 11 p.m. Tuesday, more than 1.6 million ballots were processed in Los Angeles County with nearly 74% of the voters – over 1.1 million voters –  approved the proposal. More than 26% of the voters – about 17,300 people – rejected Prop 50.

In Orange County, 70% of the ballots were processed as of Tuesday night. Among 680,00o ballots that were counted, 55% went toward “yes” on Prop 50, while 44% went to “no.”

See below for the number of ballots counted per each California county.

Large voter turnout expected

Despite Tuesday’s election being a Special Election, polling centers appeared to have large in-person voting turnout as some voters waited for hours to cast their ballots even after the race was called. 

From LA County to Orange County to the Inland Empire, voters braved long lines at polling centers.  

“I never thought Boyle Heights had this many people. Well worth it,” Holivia Alatorre, a Boyle Heights voter said while other voters told NBC Los Angeles that they got in line minutes before voting closed. 

Another voter said he was the last person in line at the North Hollywood Senior Center, and he managed to walk out at 8:43 p.m. after casting the ballot.  

Gov. Newsom also said Tuesday evening that some people waited up to three hours to cast their ballots. 

Last time California had a relatively high voter turnout for a Special election was in 2021 when Gov. Newsom faced a recall effort. The 2021 election saw a 58% voter turnout with over 12 million people casting their ballots. 

See how congressional districts will be reshaped below.

Bear, poked by Trump, roared back, Newsom says

Governor Newsom touted the projected passage of Prop 50 less than an hour after NBC News and others projected the victory.

Newsom, who pushed forward the redistricting proposal despite potential political risks in September, said Californians sent a clear message to President Trump.

“After poking the bear, this bear roared with an unprecedented turnout in a Special Election with an extraordinary result,” the governor said. “Donald Trump does not believe in fair and free elections, period and full stop. Our founding fathers did not live and die to see the kind of vandalism to this Republican or democracy that Donald Trump is trying to perpetuate.”

Other Los Angeles officials, including Mayor Karen Bass, did a victory lap even before the polls closed Tuesday evening. 

Bass, while attending a gathering with labor leaders and elected officials in downtown LA, said Prop 50 is about “a check and a balance.”

“This is a great night for Democrats and a great night to tell the administration that we are tired of only having the second time to say we are tired of what is going on in this country, what is going on in our city,” Bass said. We are going to take back the House because it is all about putting checks and balances in place that don’t exist right now.” 

But Shawn Steel, a Republican National Committee member, said the GOP will file a federal lawsuit Wednesday morning to stop the implementation of Prop 50. 

“In federal court, there’s a better chance because we are dealing with deep constitutional issues,” said Steel, expressing optimism that the Supreme Court will side with the Republicans. 

Steel admitted even in a deep blue state, it was an uphill battle for the GOP to fight against the “Yes on 50” campaign, especially with an astounding amount of resources being poured into the initiative. 

“You see that money just doesn’t talk. It wears,” Steele said. “When you get $130 million from the likes of George Soros and some other interesting billionaires, it becomes so overwhelming. There are so many other things going on in the country that it was very difficult to raise money.”