In the presidential election they are won by electoral vote, not population.

That has been the case since 1789 and if you think it should be otherwise, you missed your chance to say so by over 227 years.

One of the reasons why California is considered irrelevant is that its electorate is at the extreme end of the American political spectrum in nearly every measure.

For example, despite being 1 in 8 of the population, they are 1 in 3 of the population on welfare.