Former President Barack Obama addresses the Obama Foundation's 2024 Democracy Forum in Chicago, on December 5, 2024. Scott Olson/Getty Images/File

Former President Barack Obama urged voters to back California Democrats’ redistricting effort during a virtual event with Gov. Gavin Newsom Wednesday, framing the proposed constitutional amendment as a way to counter President Donald Trump’s efforts to skew the 2026 midterm elections in Republicans’ favor.

The measure, Proposition 50, would allow Democrats to replace maps drawn by an independent commission with new maps that could help the party flip as many as five GOP-held US House seats. Democrats have argued their push is necessary to counter Republican-led gerrymandering in states such as Texas.

“The essence of Prop 50 is to say that i

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