Trump, contradicting California GOP, opposes early voting on Prop. 50
President Trump on Sunday urged California voters not to vote by mail or vote early on redistricting in California elections; This was the exact opposite of the message from state GOP leaders.
Repeating former President Biden’s false claim that he beat him up because the election was rigged in 2020, Trump argued that November’s special redistricting elections in California would be rigged, as were the 2026 midterm elections to determine control of Congress.
“No Mail or ‘Early’ Voting, Yes to Voter ID! Watch how fraudulent the California Prop Vote is! Millions of Ballots are being ‘sent out’” Trump wrote at Truth Social. “GET SMART REPUBLICANS BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE!!!”
Proposition 50, a ballot measure proposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Democrats in California to redraw the state’s congressional districts to boost their party’s ranks in the U.S. House of Representatives, is on the Nov. 4 ballot.
The rare mid-decade redistricting effort came in response to Trump’s appeal to GOP-led states, especially Texas, to increase the number of Republicans in the House in the 2026 midterm elections to allow him to continue pushing his agenda in his final two years in the White House.
Newsom responded to Trump About X: “The nonsense of an old man who knows he’s going to lose.”
While Trump has not weighed in on the merits of Proposition 50, prominent Democrats who support Proposition, including former President Obama, have weighed in.
As of Friday, more than 4 million mail-in ballots — 18% of ballots sent to California’s 23 million voters — had been returned, according to a vote tracker run by Paul Mitchell, the Democratic redistricting expert who drew the ballot’s proposed maps. Democrats continue to outpace Republicans in returned ballots, 51% to 28%. Voters with no party preference or registered with other political parties returned 21% of their votes.
Early voting centers were opened in 29 districts on Saturday.
The turnout numbers had worried Republican leaders ahead of Trump’s message.
“It’s simple. Republicans need to stop complaining and vote. We ask, we ask, we ask, but turnout is still lagging.” Posted on San Diego GOP X. “There needs to be above-average turnout financially to win that one GOP turnout. It’s very doable, but it won’t happen right away. Work.”
Republicans have historically voted early, while Democrats have been more likely to vote on election day. By upending that dynamic, Trump has created dissonance with GOP leaders across the country who recognize the value of banking early votes. And this is completely at odds with the message of Proposition 50’s opponents.
Jessica Millan Patterson, former chairwoman of the state GOP and leader of the “No to Proposition 50 — Stop Sacramento Power Grab” committee, has long been an advocate of urging Republican voters to vote as early and conveniently as possible.
“Sacramento politicians rushed these costly elections for partisan gain, and mistakes were made,” he said Sunday evening. “If Californians want change from our state’s failed one-party rule, it starts with a no vote on Proposition 50.”
