California voters to decide on Proposition 39's proposed voter ID requirements
California voters will decide Tuesday whether to change how the state verifies the identity of voters under Proposition 39, which proposes new identification requirements for both in-person and mail-in voting.
The measure would amend the state constitution to require voters to provide government-issued IDs when casting their ballots in person. Mail-in voters would have to provide the last four digits of their ID numbers, which must match the number used for registration. Mail ballots could be rejected if the required information is missing or does not match registration records.
Under current California law, voters are generally not required to present ID for in-person voting. Mail-in ballots are verified through voters' signatures. Voters already provide identifying information when registering, such as a driver's license number, state ID number or the last four digits of their Social Security number.
The measure would also establish new requirements for election officials for verifying voters' citizenship using government records. The California Secretary of State's office and county election officials would have to annually report the percentage of registered voters whose citizenship status has been verified.
Proposition 39 is being considered as election rules have become a focus of the Trump administration's broader efforts to tighten voter verification nationwide. President Trump has called for voter ID requirements and limits on mail-in voting, while his administration has pursued changes to how states verify voter eligibility and maintain their registration lists.
On Oct. 15, the U.S. Department of Justice sued California, alleging that more than 20,000 noncitizens were unlawfully registered to vote and asked state officials to review a list of people federal officials say may have received ballots for the November midterms.
California has challenged what it called "unsubstantiated claims" from the administration, disputing the reliability of the data and raising concerns about voter privacy and the potential disenfranchisement of eligible citizens.
On Oct. 23, federal prosecutors sent letters to county elections offices across California demanding that officials set aside and verify ballots associated with people the Justice Department suspects are noncitizens. California's secretary of state and the Los Angeles County registrar are among officials who have opposed those demands, claiming the request could delay election officials' certification of results and undermine the legitimacy of the midterms.
On Oct. 28, U.S. District Judge David O. Carter denied the Justice Department's emergency request to set aside the ballots, citing concerns about the reliability of the federal government's data and the potential disenfranchisement of eligible voters. A federal appeals court also rejected the request on Oct. 30.
Earlier in the month, a federal judge struck down the Justice Department's policy for reviewing state voter rolls against its own immigration databases. The Trump administration's efforts to obtain voter information and verify citizenship have faced legal challenges in multiple states.
What supporters and opponents say about Proposition 39
Supporters of the measure, including the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, the Transparency Foundation, the Latino American Political Association and the California Women's Leadership Association, argue the changes would strengthen election security and increase public confidence in California elections by helping ensure only eligible votes are counted. The Yes on 39 campaign said the measure would provide free voter identification cards for eligible voters who need them.
Opponents, including ACLU California Action, Common Cause and the League of Women Voters of California, argue the new requirements would create unnecessary obstacles for eligible voters, particularly those who lack current identification or whose information does not match government records. They have also raised concerns about the privacy of voters' personal information and the overall cost of implementing the measure.
The Legislative Analyst's Office estimates that implementing Proposition 39 could cost state and local governments "tens of millions of dollars to low hundreds of millions of dollars" annually.