Rigged! Obama cuts ad for California ballot initiative and questions the legitimacy of 2026 election

Former President Barack Obama told California voters that if they don’t approve a measure to overturn an independent redistricting commission, Republicans would rig the next election and steal the congressional majority.

Mr. Obama made the claim in a rare public appearance: A 30-second television ad that began airing online and across the state on Tuesday.

“In California, the whole nation is counting on you,” Mr. Obama said in the ad, which is sponsored by three Democratic organizations that back redrawing district lines to favor their party. “Democracy is on the ballot. November 4. Republicans want to steal enough seats in Congress to rig the next election and wield unchecked power for two more years.”

Democrats want to cast aside California’s Citizens Redistricting Commission, an independent panel that draws the boundaries of the state’s congressional and state legislative districts. The panel was approved by voters in 2010 to end partisan gerrymandering, but Democrats want to get rid of it so they can engage in partisan gerrymandering once again.

They argue it’s needed to respond to partisan redistricting efforts in red states — most notably Texas, where the legislature recently drew congressional lines to create five new seats that favor Republican candidates. The Texas redistricting gives the House GOP a greater chance of keeping its now-slim majority. Democrat-led states, California among them, are scrambling to gerrymander their own advantage by redrawing lines to favor their candidates.

In California, that requires voters to approve Proposition 50, which will appear on the Nov. 4 ballot.

It asks voters to authorize “temporary changes” to congressional district lines “in response to Texas’ partisan redistricting.” The authority would last through 2030. If voters approve the measure, partisan redistricting could give Democrats an additional five House seats.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, is pushing for the change, while a predecessor, former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, is campaigning against it.

“They are trying to fight for democracy by getting rid of the democratic principles of California,” Mr. Schwarzenegger said at the University of Southern California last month. “It is insane to let that happen.”

Mr. Obama framed the proposal as one that would counter Mr. Trump and the Republican agenda.

Evoking a dark and authoritarian vibe, the ad featured a shadowy image of Mr. Trump walking by a figure in a military uniform and cap, followed by images of masked, armed ICE agents and National Guard Troops in trucks.

“You can stop Republicans in their tracks,” Mr. Obama tells voters. “Prop 50 puts our elections back on a level playing field, preserves independent redistricting over the long term and lets the people decide.”

Early voting by mail in California began on Oct. 6. Turnout is expected to be low this year, forcing Democrats to dump millions of dollars into advertising to try to get Prop 50 passed.

If passed, newly redrawn districts would further squeeze out GOP representation in the deep blue state. The current map was drawn by the independent commission in 2020, based on census data. It yielded 54 seats, 46 held by Democrats and eight by Republicans.