The California redistricting measure cites Texas. That’s rare : NPR

California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks at a press conference to launch the YES on 50 campaign at the headquarters of the California Democratic Party on August 21 in Sacramento. The measurement of the ballot will ask the state’s voters to approve a new Congress card created by the Democrats.

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The measurement of the ballot in California which will ask the voters if they approve a new Congress card created by the Democrats, temporarily working around the State independent redistribution commission, specifically mentions the new districts of the Texas Republicans in the title of the measure.

It is a sign of the unique of this thrust of ballot.

Voting in California is part of a broader political battle launched by President Trump. At Trump’s request, Texas Republicans recently restarted the seats of the Congress of their State to create five more favorable districts for the GOP, which could help the party keep control of the American house. Friday, Missouri legislators approved a new card, and other states led by the GOP can do the same.

In response, California legislators – led by Governor Gavin Newsom – want to counter Texas’s efforts by creating five more favorable seats for Democrats. But voters must first approve a voting measure.

The language of this voting issue has been finalized. According to the office of the Secretary of State of California, there was “no change or challenges ordered by the court” in the language.

So here is the voting title that voters will see for this proposal: “Authorizes temporary changes to the Congress Cartes in response to the partisan redistigation of Texas.

Secretary of State of California. NPR annotation

An “extremely rare” voting measure

Dane Waters, founder and president of the University of Southern California Institute and Refrendum Institute, said that there are certain aspects of this measure which are “extremely rare”.

On the one hand, Waters said, it is unusual that the legislators put something on the ballot which “replaces what the voters had already approved”, referring to the independent redistribution commission that voters adopted in 2008 and 2010.

Second, it is also special for legislators to refer to what another state made as a reason for a referendum.

“I do not know another example where there has been a question of voting title posed to people where [it] Specifically refers to something that has happened in another state or happens in another state, “said Waters.

And finally, he said, the language is explicitly partisan.

“The way this title is written is extremely rare,” he said. “And it is really, in my opinion, to play on people’s emotions on what they think of a red state against a blue state.”

Chris Melody Fields Figueredo – Executive Director of the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, a group that helps left groups to pass voting measures – said this atypical measure is a reaction to the uniqueness of the current political climate.

“What happened in Texas is not normal,” she said. “And California, they look at, what are the ways they could have to counter this process. So, it’s very different. It is … something that I have certainly not seen for 25 years that I did this job.”

For Ted Rossier, professor at the University of Northern Georgia and former Oklahoma deputy prosecutor, California’s language is slightly misleading.

“This is probably the most interesting part of this, really, is that he says that the Redecouption of Texas was a supporter, but that does not mention the fact that California’s proposal is probably also a supporter,” he said. “And so it’s really a little fallacious to train it in these terms.”

But John Bisognano, president of the National Democratic Rediscussion Committee, said in this case that it was important to emphasize that Texas began this fight by restarting its cards.

“It’s more than important; it is the truth,” he said. “As soon as the president won the phone and said:” We want to Gerrymander Texas “, it has become clear that these legislators had the choice before them. They did not have to do so.

And if you want to hire voters for your voting measure, Figueredo said you supervise a question is important. And if it is a politically motivated measure, political issues should be clear.

“Why this language is so incredibly important, it is that it gives people an overview of what could happen and if it is too heavy or difficult to understand or read, you know that they may not vote for this question,” she said. “They need to understand the context. They want to understand why they vote for something. What is this potential impact? What is it in response?”

But this whole political context could have the effect of leaving some voters, said Rossier. Some voters may not be fully aware of the redistribution battle currently waged across the country, which could lead them not to vote.

“It seems to assume that there is a lot of voter sophistication here, and I don’t know if this is really the case or not,” he said. “When people do not know what an election is … they tend not to vote. And so it could be a strategy. Maybe [lawmakers] Think that low rates are better. “”

This is why Figueredo said that the most important part of this effort in California will be the education of voters.

“Not everyone listens to news every day,” she said. “This is why it is so important that organizations focused on the community and focusing on the community are part of this process, to enter their communities, explain what is happening in states like Texas.”