California voters have passed Proposition 50, a measure to redraw district boundary lines that should affect the coming midterms. A big win for democrats as they fight to take back charge in congress.

The measure allows redrawing congressional district boundaries for the next 5 years. Before the measure passed, California had an independent citizens commission that had been in charge of drawing district lines since the VOTERS FIRST Act of 2008.

The committee is made up of 14 members: four Republicans, five Democrats, and five not affiliated with either party. The committee must draw lines with strict nonpartisan rules to create districts with fair and equal representation for all Californians. The selection process for the committee is done in coordination with the California State Auditor and the California State Legislature. The commission then accepts public opinions from various public hearings with recent census information and computer modeling of census data to create potential districts. The districts decided by the committee stay in effect for 10 years.

With the passing of the measure, California will replace the current map drawn by the commission with a map that could net Democrats five seats in Congress during the midterms. The measure was heavily advocated for by leaders of the Democratic Party, including Gavin Newsom, Barack Obama, and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. Arguing that California needed to redraw district lines to combat gerrymandering efforts by Republicans in other states like Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina. The campaign was effective in drumming up support for the measure as it passed in a landslide, winning with nearly double the amount of votes for against.

In an interview with CNN, Gavin Newsom describes the passing of the measure as a turning point. “What happened on Tuesday represents a new moment, clarity, conviction, purpose, energy on our toes, not on our heels, a resurgent Democratic Party, and it’s a party that understands what’s at stake for our democracy,” Newsom said.

There have been efforts by both parties around the country attempting to redistrict in favor of their own party. So far, 9 states have attempted to redistrict giving an edge for the next election. Most of these efforts are being contested by the disadvantaged party. On Nov. 19, a federal court blocked Texas’s redistricting proposal, ruling the new congressional maps resulted in racial gerrymandering. The Justice Department is suing California, alleging that Prop 50 mandates racially gerrymandered districts. The Public Policy Institute of California, an independent nonpartisan organization, found the Prop 50 proposed map to have the same demographic majorities as the current citizens commission map.

This win demonstrates a frustration Californians have with the current Republican run administration. Most democratic voters do not agree with partisan gerrymandering, and in the past, have fought against Republican efforts. This vote exemplifies the feeling of “by any means” that currently embodies the Democratic Party.