SAN FRANCISCO — After the signing ceremony, Governor Gavin Newsom answered questions about a redistricting ballot measure that the legislature placed for a special election on Nov. 4. Newsom said he is confident the measure will pass and said the public should decide the maps in a transparent process.

“The more people are made aware of what this is, the more likely they are to support it,” Newsom said. “I have all the confidence in the world that we're going to succeed.”

Reporters asked about Republican resistance, including statements from former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and a congressional bill by Rep. Ted Kiley. Newsom said he met with Schwarzenegger last week and that “we had more areas of agreement than disagreement.” He also said he has not recently spoken to former President Donald Trump and criticized Trump’s response to unrest in Los Angeles, saying, “The last time I talked to Donald Trump, he nationalized — forgive me — he federalized the National Guard.”

When asked about opposition spending, Newsom said Trump‑aligned forces are expected to spend heavily to defeat the measure and said they may spend “upwards of a $100,000,000 to defeat this initiative.” He said the special election is intended to give voters a direct, transparent choice on redistricting maps.

Questions were raised by reporters at the event, including Lotte Meisel of TB2 Denmark, Monica Madden of ABC7 and Lauren Thomas of CBS Bay Area. The discussion was part of the ceremony’s question‑and‑answer period rather than a formal legislative or administrative proceeding; no vote or action on the measure took place at the event itself.