The battle over California’s voter identification proposition promises to be the most competitive race in the state, with Democrats fighting a rare uphill battle in the Golden State.
An NBCUniversal Local/Telemundo Station Group poll found that Proposition 39, which would require voter ID for in-person voters and a voter identification number for mail-in ballots, is supported by voters 49%-42%. As has been the case for years, voter ID (in a vacuum) remains incredibly popular across racial and partisan lines, even in Democrat-dominated California. Combine that with the wealth of funding for the “Yes on 39” side of the campaign, and you are potentially looking at California becoming a voter ID state for the 2028 elections.
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That is not stopping Democrats from pulling out all the stops to defeat (and sabotage) Prop 39, though. The California Democratic Party claims that Prop 39 would make elections more expensive (somehow) and would delay the counting process, as if California Democrats care about spending and as if several states that have voter ID don’t count their votes exponentially faster than California does with its monthlong process. Xavier Becerra, the Democratic nominee for governor, claims that requiring voter ID “is Donald Trump’s voter interference agenda.”
Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) is taking the same tack, claiming that Prop 39 is “Trump’s BS” and that it will prevent people’s votes from being counted, despite the fact that states such as Georgia, which have voter ID requirements similar to those Prop 39 would enact, have no voter suppression issues. (In fact, Georgia’s voter turnout increased after the implementation of its voter ID requirements.)
Democrats also have the advantage of writing the ballot language for Prop 39, something that they used in the past to sabotage the gas tax repeal proposition to prevent it from passing. Here is how Democrats frame Prop 39 on the ballot: “Prohibits citizens from voting unless they present government-issued identification. Initiative Constitutional Amendment. Invalidates mail ballots that do not have last four digits of designated government-issued identification number written on envelope. Prohibits in-person voting without presenting government-issued identification.”
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The first few words of each sentence direct voters on how to feel. The proposition “prohibits citizens from voting” unless they meet its requirements. It “invalidates mail ballots” and “prohibits in-person voting.” Democrats want it to appear like a scary voter suppression ballot measure, hoping that the language will flip support into opposition just as it did with the attempted gas tax repeal.
The battle for voter ID will come down to the bitter end, as Democrats refuse to do anything to improve the state’s elections and continue to fight against basic ballot protections to ensure fair elections. For once in California, their efforts may not be enough to subvert the will of the voters.