DURHAM — With less than a week before polls close, the Butte County Farm Bureau hosted an event pushing back against Proposition 50 alongside representatives from other farm bureaus, Modoc County, farmers and Congressman Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale).

Blain Moffitt, the Butte County Farm Bureau’s president, said that the event at the bureau’s office was meant to serve as a reminder for voters to get their ballots in before the time is up.

“We just want to make sure everybody gets out there and votes,” Moffitt said. “That’s the main thing as we get closer to election day.”

The joint press conference between the bureau, LaMalfa’s office and representatives from Modoc County featured speakers Geri Byrne, a Modoc County Supervisor; Tehama County Supervisor Greg Jones; and Gridley farmer Ryan Schohr.

More than 30 people, aside from members of the media, showed up to the event holding “No on Prop. 50” signs and wearing hats signaling their disapproval of the proposed remapping of California’s congressional districts.

Before the press conference began, Butte County Farm Bureau Executive Director Colleen Cecil sat down to speak about her concerns regarding Prop. 50 and what it could mean for both farmers and rural communities in Northern California.

“This is our voice, this is education, this is a loss of representation for us in Washington, D.C. because this might be an expansive area of California, but it’s sparsely populated in comparison to the central coast or the entire coast of California,” Cecil said. “This is where the food is grown, and the people doing that work are here.”

Cecil made it clear that the event was not solely led by the Butte County Farm Bureau, but was a collaborative effort from various Northern California groups that expanded beyond agricultural representation.

“It’s not just farmers and ranchers,” Cecil said. “It’s people who believe and want to ensure that they have somebody in Washington who understands our way of life here in Northern California and that will not exist if Prop. 50 passes.”

One concern of note that was pointed out multiple times was based on Modoc County sharing a district with Marin County in what would be a large coastal span, making up District 2, should Prop. 50 pass. Byrne claimed these expanses would make it difficult to communicate with representatives.

“No more town halls down the road, fewer chances to sit face to face, share our struggles and build a real understanding,” Byrne said. “That’s not real representation, that’s isolation.”

Republican vs. Democrat

While most speakers pushed for equal representation of rural and agricultural communities that often feel disenfranchised within a state that tends to favor urban areas, the talks eventually funneled into a partisan issue between Republicans and Democrats.

Early on in the press conference, before opening up to questions, LaMalfa spoke of unnamed Democrats saying Prop. 50 was “a bridge too far.” When asked about concerns of gerrymandering in other states, such as Texas, LaMalfa took the defensive.

“They’re not violating the commission, they’re not violating the constitutional set of rules put in place by voters,” he said. “So their legislature took the initiative to draw lines, now yes, they drew them physically advantaging the ruling party in Texas, but so do they in Massachusetts and Vermont and a whole bunch of other blue states back there. I think there’s a total of 21 representatives in those New England states and zero are Republicans.”

LaMalfa also made the claim that those against Prop. 50 are being outspent by those pushing the legislation, quickly pointing at $10 million put forward by George Soros, a donor who often supports Democrat-led efforts. However, when asked about funding from the Republican Party on the national level, LaMalfa struggled.

“The national party is helping,” he said before quickly returning to funding on the Democratic side, leaning toward blaming Democrats rather than specifics on Republican funding against Prop. 50.

“I think a lot of it is understanding and we get the point across,” LaMalfa said. “I’ll give the Democrats something; they’re very good at organizing. They’re very good when the phone call comes in and they don’t ask questions very much. They’re kind of used to being told what to do. Republicans are a little more independent around here. We don’t really like being told what to do.”

According to data from the Fair Political Practices Commission, the top aggregated contributors supporting Prop. 50 have given $50,346,633.70 while opponents have raised $42,257,807.93 based on numbers from Oct. 28.