Voters in the Inland Empire and across California are casting ballots Tuesday, Nov. 4, in a special election to decide the fate of Proposition 50 — and possibly that of two longtime Republican congress members.
Known as the Election Rigging Response Act, if passed, Proposition 50 would forgo the current maps drawn by a 14-member group comprised of five Republicans, five Democrats, and four commissioners not affiliated with the two major parties. New, partisan California maps could give Democrats an advantage in California’s next three congressional elections — countering Republican-led areas — and could determine control of Congress.
RELATED: The Prop. 50 election is here. Here’s how to vote in the Inland Empire
In the politically purple Inland Empire, these new maps would split up red cities that have supported their Republican representatives — longtime Rep. Ken Calvert of Corona and Darrel Issa of San Diego County — diluting or possibly erasing GOP voters’ influence in the area.
Districts redrawn by the measure would split up Norco and Canyon Lake — both solidly red cities — from Calvert’s district and replace them with bluer communities. Issa would see the GOP strongholds of Murrieta and part of Temecula removed from his district.
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Nykala Howard receives an “I Voted” sticker Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, after casting her ballot on Proposition 50 at the Ontario Conference Center. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
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Nykala Howard receives an “I Voted” sticker Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, after casting her ballot on Proposition 50 at the Ontario Conference Center. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
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Revised maps could put Calvert, who has served the area for three decades, in a bluer district and worsen his 2026 reelection odds. They would also move Issa from a safe red district to one with a plurality of Democratic voters.
The Democrat-favoring maps would leave other districts in San Bernardino County, east Los Angeles County, and some of Riverside County — the areas represented by Reps. Mark Takano, D-Riverside, and Raul Ruiz, D-Palm Desert — untouched.
The proposed district for Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Hesperia, would be similar to what it is now.
The maps before voters would also open the door to a potential Republican-on-Republican showdown race in 2026, in what would be the new 40th Congressional District — one of four districts with a majority of registered Republican voters. This could lend itself to a race between Calvert and Rep. Young Kim, R-Anaheim Hills.
Today, the 40th includes Mission Viejo, Villa Park and Yorba Linda, along with areas in western Riverside and San Bernardino counties, and is represented by Kim.
But the newly drawn map would shift this district more eastward, dropping Orange County’s Aliso Viejo and Lake Forest, to pick up Menifee, Wildomar and parts of Corona — Riverside County areas now represented by Calvert.
The GOP has added more voters in the Inland Empire, following a trend from the 2020 election, when the Republican party recruited more voters in the region. The area’s growing Latino voting bloc, which has a slight majority in both Riverside and San Bernardino counties, swung toward Trump and Republicans in 2024. Some of the GOP’s biggest gains in the Inland area are in Latino-majority cities.
Polling shows a majority of California voters favor Proposition 50, and Democrats are more apt to vote yes than Republicans. Forty-five percent of California voters are Democrats, compared to 25% for the GOP.
Passing the measure could give Democrats another five House seats in California.
The continuing federal government shutdown was not expected to impact Election Day or ballot counting, state officials said. The U.S. Postal Service is an independent agency funded by the sale of its products and services, and is prepared for an influx of mail because of the election and holiday season, said Natashi Garvins, a spokesperson for the U.S. Postal Service in Southern California.
As of midday Tuesday, Riverside County had seen 10,784 in-person voters, and a total of 23,378 since Oct. 6, Registrar of Voters spokesperson Elizabeth Florer said. By mid-Tuesday, 438,048 vote-by-mail ballots had been processed.
In San Bernardino County, as of Monday, Nov. 3, about 1,254,157 vote-by-mail ballots were issued, and 287,867 ballots accepted, according to the California Secretary of State.
As of mid-Tuesday, more than 17,800 in-person ballots had been cast, San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters spokesperson Melissa Eickman said.
As of mid-Tuesday, no issues were reported at Riverside or San Bernardino County polling sites.
Staff writers Jeff Horseman and Kaitlyn Schallhorn contributed to this report.
