Orange County voters are largely saying yes to Proposition 50, California’s redistricting ballot measure, initial returns in the special election show.
The latest vote tally by the county registrar of voters on Wednesday evening, Nov. 5, showed support for the ballot measure with a pretty significant lead: 436,208 ballots (or 54.81%) were yes votes on Proposition 50, while 359,718 (45.19%) were cast in opposition to the ballot measure.
As of Wednesday evening, more than 796,000 ballots in Orange County had been counted. There are more than 1.9 million registered voters in the county.
Proposition 50 — a win for the redistricting ballot measure was called almost immediately after polls closed at 8 p.m. on Tuesday — has large implications for Orange County.
Supporters of the measure said it should shore up an additional five congressional seats that favor Democrats in California, a partisan gerrymandering effort they said would counter similar mid-cycle redistricting in other states that should aid Republicans in the 2026 midterm elections.
In Orange County, Proposition 50 is already unfolding in some early campaign drama for residents in California’s new 40th Congressional District in the eastern part of the county, including Rancho Santa Margarita and Villa Park. There, two incumbent Republicans, Reps. Young Kim and Ken Calvert, have announced their intentions to vie for the new seat.
But the redistricting changes also split some cities into multiple congressional districts, including Newport Beach.
Parts of the conservative-leaning city will be represented in the 42nd Congressional District, a new coastal district that includes Huntington Beach and Long Beach, and the 47th Congressional District, which is redrawn to include Irvine and Tustin at the northern end, as well as Lake Forest, Laguna Hills, Aliso Viejo, Laguna Beach, Laguna Niguel and Dana Point.
Newport Beach is now in California’s 47th Congressional District, represented by Democratic Rep. Dave Min.
Newport Beach Councilmember Erik Weigand said an argument has been made that having the ears of two lawmakers in Congress could be helpful. But Weigand is more concerned that any representative would understand the specific issues important to Newport Beach, especially regarding sand replenishment, nearby John Wayne Airport or migrant boats coming ashore.
“Having a federal connection that understands specific issues is really important,” said Weigand.
Orange County saw lengthy lines at vote centers on Election Day, including at the one in Westhaven Park, where voters waited to cast their ballot until shortly after 10 p.m., despite the election being called about two hours earlier, said Garden Grove Councilmember Ariana Arestegui.
But the news of Proposition 50 passing “didn’t deter people from wanting to cast their vote,” Arestegui said, noting the line to vote wrapped out the front door of the community center, around the playground and down along West Street.
“There’s still a strong group of people that likes to vote on the day of, and this is also especially true for our elders,” said Arestegui, although she added she noticed a number of younger and first-time voters who showed up to vote on Tuesday.
Bob Page, the county’s registrar, said a surge in voters resulted in many vote centers having long lines on Tuesday, but people who were in line to vote at 8 p.m. were still able to cast a ballot. The last voter in the county was processed in Anaheim at 10:50 p.m., Page said in a LinkedIn post.
“After about 40,000 voters signed the electronic voter roster at our Vote Centers during the first 10 days of in-person voting, almost twice that many voters (about 73,000) checked in to vote at a Vote Center” on Tuesday, Page wrote.
He went on to compare turnout in the 2021 effort to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom with the redistricting special election.
This go-round, county election workers checked in about 5,500 more voters on Tuesday than on Sept. 14, 2021, the final day of voting then, Page said.
“But over the entire 11 days of in-person voting during both elections, about 14,600 more voters checked in at our 64 Vote Centers during the 2021 Gubernatorial Recall Election than did at our 66 Vote Centers during this 2025 Statewide Special Election,” he added. “The difference in voter behavior between the two statewide special elections is very noticeable in the check-in data.”
While the election has already been called in favor of Proposition 50 by The Associated Press and other news outlets, ballot counting is still underway.
Nov. 12 is the deadline for county elections officials to receive and count all vote-by-mail ballots that were postmarked on or before Election Day.