Republican State Assemblyman Carl DeMaio is seeking to distance the voter ID measure Californians will see on their November ballot from President Donald Trump’s efforts to restrict voting at the federal level. During a Monday night speech at the Orange County GOP Central Committee meeting, DeMaio said the ballot measure, Proposition 39, is “not the same” as the failed federal SAVE Act, which would have required proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote.
Speaking to dozens of O.C. Republican leaders, DeMaio acknowledged Californians’ overwhelming embrace of mail-in voting, calling Prop. 39 a “bipartisan solution that keeps mail ballots, so that voting is convenient, but improves trust and confidence by requiring an ID to vote.”
What would Prop. 39 do?
- Prop. 39 would change California’s constitution to require voters to provide a government-issued ID when they cast a ballot.
- Mail-in voters would have to include the last four digits of that ID on the ballot envelope.
- The measure would also require election officials to use “best efforts,” using government data, to verify that voters on registration rolls are U.S. citizens, and to report annually the percentage verified.
Reaction to the ballot initiative
Supporters note that nationwide polling has shown widespread support for voter ID across political parties. They also say using a voter’s signature on their mail-in ballot to verify identity, as California currently does, delays election results and causes some valid voters to have their ballots rejected.
Opponents of Prop. 39 say the initiative feeds into President Trump’s claims of widespread election fraud, which they say are false. Opponents also say the measure would make voting more burdensome and expensive, while opening up mail voters to potential identity theft.
How Prop. 39 is being pitched to voters
The latest polling on Prop. 39 suggests it could face an uphill battle in November…