California's Biggest Voting District Faces Seismic Change if Prop. 50 Passes

Here are this morning’s headlines for Thursday, October 30, 2025:

• In Part 4 of our series, California Divided, we head north, to speak with residents in District 1, who’ve expressed concern over the impact that Proposition 50 will have on their voting power if it passes.
• The Trump Administration is halting automatic renewals of work permits for immigrants. The policy, which begins today, could force thousands of immigrants out of work, and leaving them in limbo, as their applications for renewal get stuck in a growing queue.

In California’s Far North, Voters Worry Redistricting Means Republican Bastions Will Buck Up Against Coastal Blue Enclaves

California’s 1st Congressional District 1 is the state’s largest by geography: It stretches from Modoc County in the northeast corner of the state to the Klamath National Forest in the west, and down south to the city of Chico.

While it’s vast, Modoc is the third-least populated county in the state. It’s part of a congressional district created to include counties that depend on natural resources like ranching, timber and farming.

Under Proposition 50, that would change: Modoc would still be clustered with like-minded Siskiyou and Shasta counties, but it would be in the same congressional district — District 2 — as Marin County on the coast.

Some residents are concerned that the new maps would further reduce their political power in a super-blue state.

The White House Ends Renewal Extensions, Automatic Renewals for Immigrant Work Permits

The Trump administration is getting rid of a policy that offered extra time to many immigrants seeking work permit renewals. The sudden shift takes effect Thursday.

Attorneys are concerned the end of this grace period means people will be forced out of their jobs as their renewal applications get stuck in growing administrative backlogs later this winter. Immigrants can’t legally work without a valid work permit, and employers often check for those.

Attorneys say the shift is likely to impact thousands of immigrants of varying statuses who already have a legal way to work and will need to renew their work permits. It does not effect immigrants currently in the middle of an extension.