Last night (Nov. 4) was a night of celebration up and down the country. Black voters in Detroit celebrated Mary Sheffield’s historic win, as she was elected the city’s mayor, and Black voters in California got to join in on the celebrations with the passing of the Prop 50 initiative. Let’s get into it!
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As we previously told you, Prop 50 was California’s only ballot proposition this November, and an important one for Black voters! The initiative will permit the state to adopt a new congressional map, which is designed to give Democrats up to four extra seats in the short term. The new maps will be used until 2030, when the state’s independent redistricting commission will draw a new set of districts based on the 2030 Census.
The initiative, backed by California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and Barack Obama, was drafted to counter a similar redistricting move by President Trump in Texas that gives Republicans five additional congressional seats, favoring their party, per The Root.
The passing of Proposition 50 will help to neutralize the voting field and ensure Black voters can vote for candidates of their choice. This could have a major impact on the 2026 midterms, according to ABC News.
Now, as of last night, Prop 50 has officially been passed, with 63. percent of California voters polling for Prop 50, a figure that represents 4.7 million citizens out of a total of more than 7 million voters, according to The New York Times.
This clean sweep was reflected online as Black folks posted their reactions and could not hide their excitement over the polling results.
“PROP 50 IN CALIFORNIA JUST PASSED!!! WOKE IS MOTHERF****** BACK,” posted one user.
Uploading a video of former Vice President Kamala Harris exclaiming that she “loves good news,” @poisedsaint wrote that they were “libbing the f*ck out” because of the Democrats winning elections across the country last night.
“Prop 50 passes. I know that’s right, California,” added another user.
Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett celebrated the Democratic landslide last night in a post that thanked voters in California for “fighting fire with fire” and passing Prop 50.
“Tonight has given us so much hope for our ability & (we) will continue to fight for what’s best for ALL OF US, COLLECTIVELY,” Crockett signed off her post.
“CALIFORNIA’S PROP 50 WON BY A WHOPPING 60-35 MARGIN! WE ARE BACK, DEMS. LET’S F****** GO,” wrote another user.
Other users celebrated this win with Zohran Mamdani’s historic election as the first South Asian and Muslim Mayor of New York City.
“How I feel watching Mamdani speak and seeing that California passed Prop 50,” posted a user with a gif of Mark Ruffalo fist-pumping the air.
Another user tweeted their celebration with a message that Democratic voters are coming for Texas.
“CALIFORNIA PASSED PROP 50. TEXAS! WE’RE COMING FOR YOU ALL.”
@allenanalysis uploaded a video of Gen-Z voters lining up in California to vote yes for Prop 50, showing that younger generation of voters are also ready to be apart of the hopeful future.
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