October 29, 2025 - SAN FRANCISCO - A majority of California likely voters say they will vote yes on Proposition 50, which would temporarily change how the state draws congressional district maps. Regardless of their position on the proposition, most voters believe the outcome is very important—a record level of interest in a ballot measure. Approval ratings for President Donald Trump remain low, as does support for some of his most prominent policies, including immigration. Californians identify political extremism or threats to democracy as the most important problem facing the nation. These are among the key findings from a statewide survey released on Tuesday by the Public Policy Institute of California.

Full Survey Report

Asked about Proposition 50, 56 percent of California likely voters say they will vote yes and 43 percent say no. Partisans are divided: majorities of Democrats (84%) and independents (55%) plan to vote yes, while most Republicans (89%) say they’ll vote no. Whites (48%) are less likely to say they will vote yes than are Latinos (59%) and other racial/ethnic groups (68%). Support for Proposition 50 is strongest in the San Francisco Bay Area (69%) and weakest in the Central Valley (44%). The measure enjoys majority support in Democratic-held House districts (59%) but not in Republican-held ones (42%). Despite the support for Proposition 50, the citizens’ redistricting commission—and the proposition that established its use for congressional redistricting—remains wildly popular among voters of all stripes. Seventy-two percent of likely voters say that the 2010 measure passed by voters has been mostly a good thing for the state.

Likely voters are highly invested in the election result. Nearly seven in ten (68%) likely voters say the outcome is very important to them. The PPIC survey has not registered such a high level of interest in a ballot proposition since we began measuring it over 20 years ago. Democrats and Republicans (73% each) and yes (73%) and no (64%) voters agree that the outcome is very important.

“We are seeing a record level of interest in Proposition 50, maybe because voters are able to express their views about the president, Congress, governor, and state legislature with a single vote,” said Mark Baldassare, PPIC Statewide Survey director and Miller Chair in Public Policy. “Of those who would vote yes on Proposition 50, 95 percent disapprove of President Trump and 86 percent approve of Governor Newsom.”

The new statewide survey also finds:

• Approval ratings for President Trump, Congress remain low. Majorities disapprove of the federal budget bill, tariffs, and ICE. Twenty-six percent of Californians and a third of likely voters (33%) approve of the way President Trump is handling his job; far fewer approve of the US Congress (14% adults, 17% likely voters). Californians are also less than enthusiastic about some of President Trump’s initiatives: nearly seven in ten Californians (69%) and likely voters (67%) disapprove of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed by Congress. Majorities of California adults (72%) and likely voters (66%) also oppose the US placing new tariffs on goods imported from other countries.

  When asked about immigration policy, strong majorities of Californians (71%) and likely voters (65%) disapprove of the job the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) is doing. Majorities across all demographic groups and state regions express disapproval, while Republicans (78%) overwhelmingly approve of the job ICE is doing. Nearly half (49% adults, 46% likely voters) worry that someone they know could be deported due to increased federal immigration enforcement. Majorities favor a way for undocumented immigrants to stay in the US legally (74% adults, 69% likely voters) and view immigrants as a benefit to the state (73% adults, 68% likely voters).

  “Approval ratings of the president and Congress remain low in California and the president’s signature policies are garnering little support,” Baldassare said. “Most Californians disapprove of how ICE is performing its job and oppose the federal budget bill and new tariffs.”

  Views of state officials are rosier: Majorities of adults (54%) and likely voters (55%) approve of the way Governor Newsom is handling his job, and about half (49% adults, 52% likely voters) approve of the job the state legislature is doing.

• Political extremism or threats to democracy are viewed as the nation’s biggest problem. Cost of living is the top state problem. Most Californians (40% adults, 49% likely voters) see political extremism or threats to democracy as the most important problem facing the nation today, followed by the economy (19% adults, 13% likely voters) and immigration (12% each). More than seven in ten Californians (77%) and likely voters (72%) think things in the US are going in the wrong direction. Less than three in ten (22% adults, 27% likely voters) expect that the US economy will have good times financially in the next 12 months.

  Economic issues top the list of worries for the state. Californians (32%) and likely voters (26%) are most likely to identify the cost of living and inflation as the top problem, followed by housing (14% adults, 13% likely voters), threats to democracy (11% adults, 16% likely voters), and government in general (11% adults, 13% likely voters). About half of adults (51%) and likely voters (50%) think that things in California are going in the wrong direction, while three in four (75% adults, 76% likely voters) expect bad times financially in the year ahead.

  “Californians are expressing concern about the state of our nation’s democracy,” Baldassare said. “At the same time, economic pessimism runs deep and most expect bad times during the next 12 months.”

Also check out questions about:

• Economic conditions
• Homelessness
• Crime
• Trust in state government
• Approval ratings of US senators

About the Survey

The Californians and Their Government survey is supported with funding from the Arjay R. and Frances F. Miller Foundation.

The findings are based on responses from 1,707 California adult residents. The sampling error is ±3 percent at the 95 percent confidence level for the total unweighted sample and ±4.1 percent for the 943 likely voters. Interviewing took place from October 7-14, 2025. For more information, please see the methodology section in the full survey report.

Mark Baldassare is statewide survey director at PPIC, where he holds the Arjay and Frances Fearing Miller Chair in Public Policy. He is founder of the PPIC Statewide Survey, which he has directed since 1998.

The Public Policy Institute of California is dedicated to informing and improving public policy in California through independent, objective, nonpartisan research. We are a public charity. We do not take or support positions on any ballot measure or on any local, state, or federal legislation, nor do we endorse, support, or oppose any political parties or candidates for public office. Research publications reflect the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of our funders or of the staff, officers, advisory councils, or board of directors of the Public Policy Institute of California.

Source: PPIC