California voters will head to the polls on Nov. 4 and will be asked a tricky question: do we sacrifice now for the greater good?
The greater good being a counter to President Donald Trump’s attempts to create more Republican districts, or do we keep things “as is” and hope voters get it right next year?
That’s a tough ask. The last two major elections – in 2020 and 2024 – show a dramatic shift in political ideology in the great Blue state of California. In fact, 10 out of California’s 58 counties flipped to red and voted for Trump. Those counties include Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Inyo, Fresno, Merced, Butte, Nevada, San Joaquin, and Stanislaus counties.
A new poll released by the Latino Community Foundation and BSP Research shows 62% of eligible Latino voters in California are expected to vote in the special election.
California voters were mailed inaccurate guides ahead of November special election
In California, 3 million constituents in Los Angeles County are Latino, and across the state, that number goes up to 8.3 million; however, many cite the ongoing immigration as a possible barrier to going safely to the polls.
The California Democratic Party has resorted to promoting an article in the Los Angeles Sentinel titled Must-read: “Black Vote Will Play a Crucial Role in the Passage of Proposition 50” via LASentinel Black voters have always been at the heart of defending democracy— and Prop 50 is no different, which implies it’s up to Black people to save democracy from Trump.
There are approximately 760,000 to 936,000 Black or African American constituents in Los Angeles County, representing about 7.6% to 8.3% of the total population, according to recent estimates and surveys like the 2022-2023 State of Black Los Angeles County Report and 2023 Census data.
So although Latinos outnumber Blacks in Los Angeles County, we represent the same percentage of the population statewide which makes this election crucial for Black residents.
Going back down memory lane, Los Angeles Councilman Herb Wesson served in the state legislature and worked in the offices of the late Nate Holden and Yvonne Brathwaite-Burke, recognizing the need to ensure that Black residents had a proverbial “seat at the table”.
In 2012, when redistricting was on the Los Angeles City Council’s agenda, and while serving as City Council President, Wesson had the foresight to understand our voting power was diminishing as the Black population was decreasing, and the Latino population was rising.
Wesson told a group of Baptist ministers that the city was divided into factions, and that he was “able to protect the most important asset that we as black people have, and that’s to make sure that a minimum of two of the council people will be black for the next 30 years.”
The Los Angeles Times wrote, “federal law bars district lines being drawn for the primary purpose of protecting or enhancing the voting power of particular racial groups.” I guess no one told Trump.
A decade later, as redistricting was back before the Los Angeles City Council, “those tapes” sent a nuclear bomb throughout Black Los Angeles, as three sitting members of the city council – Gil Cedillo, Kevin de Leon and Nury Martinez – were secretly recorded alongside Ron Herrera, then the head of the county Federation of Labor, who were attempted to redraw district lines in favor of their friends and against their political foes.
It didn’t work. Martinez stepped down. Cedillo termed out. De Leon was voted out and Herrera resigned. They were attempting to disenfranchise voters because they were “exasperated by the continued political might of the city’s Black voters, who make up less than 10% of the populace.”
The map being proposed in Prop 50, if approved by voters, would achieve what the quartet failed to do, which is strip Black voters of their political power.
There were also misperceptions that Black voters shifted to Trump in the 2024 election, which was disputed by a study conducted by the Black Voter Project, funded by Sacramento State’s Center for California Studies, that disputes media reports leading up to the election that Black men were moving away from the Democratic Party in favor of Donald Trump.
Support for Kamala Harris among Black men increased by 24% over time, according to the survey, with 82% of Black men voting for Harris on Election Day. Support for Trump, however, dropped to 17%, matching 2020 exit polls.
Don’t be fooled by the rhetoric that Prop 50 is just “temporary” due to a sunset clause that is attached to it, but have no fear, with the right amount of [successful] lobbying, whoever assumes the Governor’s office after Newsom is gone, could be persuaded to extend Prop 50 if the political will is there.
Black people should be tired of being used as pawns in elections, where we are expected to “save” someone, which is typically to our own detriment.