As Californians begin voting on Democrats' attempt to boost their hold on Congress, former President Obama warned that democracy is at risk and urged voters to support Proposition 50 in a television ad that began airing Tuesday.
“California, the entire nation is counting on you,” Obama says in a 30-second ad that the main Proposition 50 campaign began airing across the state Tuesday. The spot is part of a multimillion-dollar advertising deal promoting Congress' redistricting measure for the Nov. 4 election.
Proposition 50 It was led this summer by Gov. Gavin Newsom and other California Democratic Party leaders after President Trump called on GOP-led states, especially Texas, to redraw their congressional districts to increase the number of Republicans elected to the House of Representatives in next year's midterm elections, in an attempt to continue his agenda in his final years in office. positions.
“Republicans want to steal enough seats in Congress to rig the next election and have unchecked power for two more years.” Obama speaks in commercialwhich includes footage of ICE raids. “With Proposition 50, you can stop Republicans. Proposition 50 returns our elections to a level playing field, preserves independent redistricting for the long term, and lets the people decide. Get your ballot back today.”
Congressional districts have long been locked in smoky halls by partisans seeking to protect the power of their parties and incumbents. But good government groups and elected officials, especially former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, have fought to wrest congressional boundary drawing out of the hands of politicians to end gerrymandering and create more competitive districts.
Obama, who has long advocated stopping fraud, has already approved the ballot measure.
In California, those districts were chosen by an independent commission created by voters in 2010, so state Democrats must go to the ballot box to push for partisan mid-decade redistricting that could improve their party's chances in five of the state's 52 congressional districts.
The commercial featured Obama, who appeared Monday on comedian Marc Maron's latest podcast about Trump's policies test national valuesappears on Californians' television after mail-in ballots were sent to the state's 23 million registered voters last week.
The proposal's prospects are unclear—it deals with an obscure issue that few Californians know about, and off-year elections traditionally feature low voter turnout. Still, over 150 million dollars was presented to the three main committees supporting and opposing the proposal, in addition to millions more fund other efforts.
Obama isn't the only famous person to appear in a Proposition 50 ad.
In September, Schwarzenegger, who advocated for an independent redistricting commission while in office and has since campaigned for similar reforms across the country, was presented in advertising opposing November vote.
He described Proposition 50 as supporting entrenched politicians rather than voters.
“That's what they want to do is set us back. That's why it's so important that you vote against Proposition 50,” the Hollywood celebrity and former governor says in the ad, which was filmed last month when he spoke to students at the University of Southern California. “The Constitution does not begin with the words “We the Politicians.” It begins with the words “We the People.” … Democracy—we have to defend it, and we have to go and fight for it.”
