California Gov. Gavin Newsom and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi took aim at Proposition 39 in San Francisco on Friday, with Pelosi criticizing voter ID requirements as “obstacles” to voting.
Yet the backdrop in California’s election administration shows why Prop 39 is needed. Last week, the Department of Justice charged 28 people with federal election-related crimes, and 11 were arrested. The 28 were among more than 20,000 registrants flagged as likely noncitizens.
Following the arrests, Los Angeles County officials admitted: “they have no independent way to verify citizenship beyond what voters attest.” Meanwhile, California argued in a Saturday court filing that “when it comes to the rules of election administration, the federal government has no power to interfere with the States unless Congress passes a law governing the time, place, or manner of elections.”
If California’s liberal leaders want the federal government out of their elections, shouldn’t that give them all the more reason to support safeguards like Proposition 39, rather than label it an “obstacle”?
Their opposition to voter ID is nothing new.
Back in 2024, Huntington Beach voters approved Measure A with 53.4 percent of the vote. The measure would have allowed the city to require identification at the polls in municipal elections starting in 2026.
“If the community wants this, and this going to help them have more faith in our elections system, why not?" said Huntington Beach Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark. Instead, Attorney General Rob Bonta and Secretary of State Shirley Weber sued the city in April 2024. In a press release, Bonta characterized Measure A as an “unlawful step toward suppressing or disenfranchising voters.”
The Legislature passed Senate Bill 1174, which bars any local government from requiring voter ID, and the courts eventually struck the Huntington Beach measure down.
Apparently, even when voters want stronger identification requirements, Sacramento thinks it knows better and dismisses their wishes. Yet their current system raises questions about how the state verifies who is eligible to vote.
California already collects identification numbers. It just never checks them when ballots are cast. According to CalMatters, the state requires residents to provide an identification number to register, but does not ask for it at the polls. Citizenship works the same way. The state doesn’t generally require documents proving citizenship to register. Applicants just check a box saying they’re U.S. citizens. Once someone is on the rolls, signature verification is the main safeguard. The Legislative Analyst's Office confirms that under a “no” vote, a voter's identity would continue to be established by signature. In a state that sends a mail ballot to every registered voter, that is a lot of trust placed in a handwriting comparison.
Prop 39 closes that gap without changing how Californians cast their ballots. According to the official ballot analysis, voters would list a government-issued ID on their registration and provide identifying information each time they vote. Those voting in person would show ID, while mail voters would provide the last four digits of a government ID number on the envelope. Officials would also make “best efforts” to verify citizenship using government data. They would report each year the share of voters in each county whose citizenship has been confirmed. Vote-by- mail stays in place.
Reform California and Californians for Voter ID submitted more than 1.3 million signatures to qualify the measure for the ballot.
Yet just like in 2024 with Huntington Beach, Sacramento is resisting the idea. The attorney general's official title describes the measure as one that "prohibits citizens from voting unless they present government-issued identification."
Beyond the title dispute, opponents raise two objections. The first is cost. The LAO estimates tens of millions to low hundreds of millions of dollars per year, but the same analysis notes that this is less than one-quarter of one percent of the state's General Fund. Meanwhile, Sacramento has budgeted nearly $1.5 billion for high-speed rail.
The second objection is access. Prop 39 addresses that directly. The LAO notes that the state must provide a free voter identification card to any voter who requests one. The mail-ballot requirement also relies on identifying information voters already provide at registration, although voters would need to supply it again when returning their ballot.
Any vote cast by a noncitizen dilutes the vote of an American citizen. Verifying citizenship helps protect eligible voters and shows that states care about having fair elections.
Newsom and Pelosi think Prop 39 is unnecessary, but their own state’s election mess has drawn the DOJ’s attention and raised questions about whether the state is doing enough to verify voter eligibility.
If Sacramento wants Washington out of its elections, maybe it should start listening to its own voters who want stronger safeguards. Vote yes on Proposition 39.