California voters passed Proposition 50 on Tuesday, clearing the way for the state to redraw its congressional districts in a manner that could enable Democrats to regain the U.S. House of Representatives in next year’s midterm elections.

Though the U.S. Department of Justice sent election monitors to five California counties — prompting state and some local leaders to deploy their own election monitors — voting across the state went smoothly for the most part. Because of the atypical high voter interest in this year’s special election, some voting centers and college campuses reported long lines. By Election Day, over 7.2 million votes were already submitted.

The gerrymandering measure was a high-stakes gamble for Gov. Gavin Newsom, who initially floated the idea in the summer as a counter to Texas Republicans’ own mid-cycle redistricting efforts. Prop. 50 proponents poured more than $120 million into Newsom’s committee supporting the measure, while opponents raised $44 million. Groups unaffiliated with any Prop. 50 campaign spent at least an additional $26 million to influence voters.

• Newsom, at a Tuesday evening press event: “We organized in an unprecedented way, in a 90-day sprint. … We stood firm in response to (President) Donald Trump’s recklessness. And tonight, after poking the bear, this bear roared with an unprecedented turnout, in a special election with an extraordinary result.”

In his victory speech, Newsom also urged Democratic leaders in other states to “meet this moment” and advance efforts to redistrict as well, including Virginia and Maryland.

With Prop. 50’s passage, five GOP congressmembers now face steep odds to re-election, write CalMatters’ Jeanne Kuang and Maya C. Miller. U.S. Rep. Kevin Kiley’s 3rd District, for example, currently encompasses the Sacramento suburbs, but it will change to pull in Democratic voters from the city. The Rocklin Republican opposed Prop. 50, and pledged to run for re-election in the redrawn district.

Meanwhile, Trump has described Prop. 50 as unconstitutional and a “giant scam.” Despite unproven claims of widespread voter fraud, the president remains a vocal critic of mail-in voting, and vowed to give California’s mail-in ballot results a “very serious legal and criminal review.” The Justice Department plans to monitor election proceedings in California until Thursday.

Read more about what you might have missed on Prop. 50’s victory, and check out the election results from CalMatters’ Mohamed Al Elew and Jeremia Kimelman.

A new California law that helps protect user data on the web may pave the way for nationwide protections, reports CalMatters’ Colin Lecher.

Gov. Newsom signed Assembly Bill 566 into law in October, which requires companies that make web browsers — such as Google’s Chrome or Microsoft’s Edge — to offer users by 2027 an opt-out “signal” that automatically tells websites not to share or sell their personal information while they browse the internet. 

The state’s consumer privacy watchdog, California Privacy Protection Agency, sponsored the first-in-the-nation law, which received pushback from Google — though the tech giant never publicly opposed the legislation.

Because it’s likely easier for companies to provide the service for all users in the country instead of just those in California, experts say the legislation has the potential to have more far-reaching effects.

• Emory Roane, associate director of policy at Privacy Rights Clearinghouse: “It’s really not that difficult technically. … We expect it to have a national impact.”

Read more here.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney died at the age of 84 Monday, due to complications from pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease, according to his family. After serving as a Wyoming congressmember and U.S. Secretary of Defense, he served as vice president under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2009.

California Assembly Republicans paid tribute to Cheney, saying that his career in public service “reflected deep commitment to his country.” Democratic officials also expressed their condolences, including Newsom and California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, who in a statement said that Cheney’s “latter years were an example that we all need to speak up to threats against our democracy and our communities.” 

Cheney was a divisive figure who was widely regarded as the architect behind the U.S.’ wars with Iraq and Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The two conflicts and the country’s broader “war on terror” are estimated to have killed at least 4.5 million people.

After his tenure as vice president, Cheney became an outspoken critic of President Trump. During the 2024 presidential election, Cheney endorsed then-Vice President Kamala Harris, arguing at the time that Trump can “never be trusted with power again.” Trump did not release a public statement in regards to Cheney’s passing as of Tuesday evening, though the White House ordered flags to be lowered at half-staff in his honor.

After months of speculation U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla confirmed Tuesday that he won’t run for California governor next year. The state’s senior senator gained national attention in June after FBI agents handcuffed him for interrupting a press conference hosted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary. Read more from Maya.