This is an LA Times Studios podcast.

Hi, I'm Faith Pino, and you're listening to Headlines from LA Times Studios.

Here's some of today's top stories from the Los Angeles Times.

California's November 4th special election is just a week away, with voters already heading to the polls to vote on Proposition 50.

The measure proposed by Governor Gavin Newsome would allow the state to redraw its congressional maps.

According to Cima META, the campaign has already pulled in more than $114 million,

over four times what opponents have raised. Prop 50 would scrap California's independent

redistricting commission and let lawmakers draw new districts. Normally, that happens only every 10 years, giving Democrats a rare mid-decade

chance to boost their seats in Congress. Newsom says it's about fighting back against Republican

states who are also redrawing their maps. Still, opponents call it a power grab that could destroy

California's gold standard system.

We're not just identifying a problem. We're actually trying to solve a problem.

And it's a problem of their making. This was not the press comments we intended to have.

This is not an action the legislature intended to advance. This is not an election we expected to be holding on November 4th.

But they shot the first bullet. They took an action in Texas and were responding to it.

And I continue to make this point. We're no longer hand-wringing in debating whether or not

we should play hardball in response. It's how now. So far, more than four million ballots have

already been returned, with Democrats outpacing Republicans 51% to 28%. Meanwhile, early voting

sites opened Saturday in 29 counties across California, giving voters

more time to cast their ballots.

The Justice Department says it plans to monitor polling places in five California counties,

a move that Newsom calls voter intimidation, claiming Trump's administration is trying to suppress

...