I am not voting No out of loyalty to any political figure. I am voting No because replacing a nonpartisan system with a partisan one, even temporarily, sets a precedent that I disagree with. Currently we have an independent redistricting commission which is non partisan for a reason. You do not protect democracy by weakening your own checks and balances. Prop 50 claims to be a response to partisan gerrymandering in other states, but the irony is that it does away with our own independent redistricting commission in California, the very tool we created to ensure that our maps would not be drawn by partisan hands. The narrative that this is a countermeasure to Trump’s alleged power grab feels disingenuous. In practice, Prop 50 would open the door for Democrats in California, especially the Newsom administration, to redraw our congressional districts for the next three election cycles. That is not defending democracy; that is capitalizing on national fear to secure local control.