A proposed measure backed by two Southern California Republicans would require voters to use identification at the polls and by mail, and local election officials would be expected to regularly verify voter rolls.
The proposed state constitutional amendment authored by Assembly Member Carl DeMaio of San Diego and state Senator Tony Strickland of Huntington Beach would require voters to present a government-issued ID at polling places, matching current registration requirements, as the Chronicle reports.
Mail-in voters would need to write the last four digits of that ID on their ballot envelope. The measure would also require election officials to verify that voter rolls include only US citizens and report annually on citizenship confirmation rates.
Supporters reportedly submitted more than 962,000 valid signatures, exceeding the 874,461 required to qualify for the November ballot. According to the New York Times, a campaign committee backing the measure reported collecting over 1.3 million signatures and raising nearly $9 million, with donations from high-profile backers including billionaire twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss and Nicole Shanahan, who was Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s running mate in the 2024 presidential election.
DeMaio said the measure is aimed at restoring trust in elections and improving accountability, citing concerns about outdated voter rolls and lack of citizenship verification, per the Times. A UC San Diego survey found 60% of respondents said they believe votes will be counted accurately in this year’s midterms, down from 77% after the 2024 presidential election.
Democrats and voting rights advocates say the proposal could make it harder for eligible Californians to vote, particularly people of color and low-income residents. Jenny Farrell of the League of Women Voters of California said it would create new barriers, raise privacy concerns, and add unnecessary costs.
Angelica Salceda of the ACLU of Northern California said ID requirements would disproportionately affect students, people with disabilities, and elderly voters who may not have current identification, per the Chronicle. Richard Hasen, an election law expert at UCLA, said most voters have some form of identification, but the measure’s proof-of-citizenship requirements could create added burdens for election officials, as the Times reports.
President Donald Trump has tied federal wildfire aid for California to the adoption of voter ID requirements and limits on mail-in voting. Trump has also been pushing Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register, mandate photo ID at the polls, and penalize officials who fail to enforce the rules. The Chronicle reports that the bill passed the House but is unlikely to clear the Senate, where it would need 60 votes to overcome a filibuster.
On the state level, Florida lawmakers approved a voter registration law set to take effect next year, while an Arizona law requiring proof of citizenship was partially blocked by the US Supreme Court, which reportedly allowed voters without documentation to still participate in federal elections.
DeMaio’s proposal stops short of changing registration requirements but would require ongoing citizenship verification of voter rolls and annual reporting by state election officials. He argued current rolls are outdated and rely too heavily on self-attestation, per the Chronicle.
According to the Associated Press, studies have found very few cases of non-citizens voting. Reviews in several states between 2016 and 2022 identified fewer than 50 such cases per state out of tens of millions of ballots cast, while a Brennan Center analysis of 23.5 million votes in the 2016 election found 30 suspected instances.
Image: Assembly Member Carl DeMaio/Facebook
