CaliforniaPeople.org

Proposition

39Voter ID and citizenship verification

Our readLean no

Voter ID plus an ID number on mail ballots. Texas rejected 1 in 8 mail ballots when it tried this; fraud runs about 4 per 10 million.

MarkdownUse with AI agents
Type
Initiative constitutional amendment
Sponsor
Reform California / Asm. Carl DeMaio (R)
Campaign money
$36.6M yes$33.6M no
Your pick

Key findings

  • The closest test case is Texas. When it began requiring an ID number on mail ballots in 2022, 12.4% of mail ballots were rejected in the March primary (1 in 8), up from under 1% in 2020. By November the rate fell to 2.7% as voters adjusted. [1][2]
  • California already rejects about 1.7% of mail ballots (148,241 in the June 2026 primary), mostly for arriving late. Brookings found about 4 fraud cases per 10 million mail ballots. [1][3]
  • About 13M of 16M Californians voted by mail in 2024, so the ID-number rule would reach about 80% of voters. [4]
  • $17M of the $36.6M raised for Yes by early October came from one Illinois billionaire, Richard Uihlein. [5][6] By Oct 26 the Yes side reported $39.5M. [7]
  • The sponsor's PAC network raised $5M in 2024. A sworn complaint pending at the FPPC alleges DeMaio used Reform California money to help his own Assembly campaign. Four earlier FPPC probes ended in two warnings and two findings of no violation. [6][8]

Track record

Place / year Rule Mail ballot rejection rate
Texas, 2020 general Signature only under 1%
Texas, Mar 2022 primary New ID-number rule (SB 1) 12.4%
Texas, Nov 2022 general Same rule, after voter outreach 2.7%
California, June 2026 primary Signature check 1.73% (63% of those for lateness)
California, Prop 39 ID number on every mail envelope Unknown; the LAO says some ballots would be rejected

Money and conflicts

  • Yes $39.5M across 2 committees as of Oct 26 [7]. As of early October ($36.6M): Uihlein $17M, Steven Bray $3M+ in loans, Nicole Shanahan $370K, the Winklevoss twins $250K each. [5][6]
  • No $33.3M across 10 committees as of Oct 26 [7]. Top donors: CA Democratic Party ~$5.5M, Graton Rancheria $2M, Patty Quillin and Quinn Delaney $1.5M each, SEIU $1M. Becerra and Speaker Rivas run a joint No committee. [5][6]
  • Analysts see national GOP donors using California as a test of voter-ID messaging. [5][6]

Does it solve a lasting problem?

  • Most states require some ID at the polls, and confidence in elections is a real issue. But the documented fraud it targets is rare, and the main measurable effect, based on Texas, is a temporary rise in rejected legitimate mail ballots.

If you vote yes: accountability

Bottom line: The measure leaves the hard details to the Legislature: which databases count for checking citizenship, and what happens when a mail ballot's ID number is missing or doesn't match. [4] Those rules will decide how many legal votes get rejected. In Texas, 12.4% of mail ballots were rejected the first time a similar rule applied. [1]

Who's accountable

  • The Legislature must write the rules, including whether voters get a chance to fix ("cure") a missing or wrong ID number. [4]
  • The Secretary of State oversees statewide elections. That race (Weber vs. Wagner) is on this ballot.
  • County registrars verify ID numbers and citizenship. In Rancho Cucamonga, that's the San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters.
  • The State Auditor must report on state and county compliance every odd-numbered year. [4]

What to ask for

  • A cure process for every rejected ballot, with notice by mail, text and email, and a deadline after Election Day.
  • County-by-county reports of rejected ballots by reason, published before and after each election.
  • Free ID cards that are easy to get, since the state must provide them on request. [4]

Public records to request (CPRA)

Anyone can file a California Public Records Act request (the state's version of FOIA), with no reason required. Agencies must respond within 10 days, or 24 in unusual cases. [9]

To the San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters: Under the California Public Records Act (Gov. Code § 7920.000 et seq.), I request the number of vote-by-mail ballots challenged and rejected in the November 2024 and June 2026 elections, by reason (late, signature mismatch, missing signature, other), and the number later cured.

What it does
  • In-person voters must show government ID. The state must issue a free ID card on request. [4]
  • Every mail-ballot envelope needs the last 4 digits of a government ID chosen at registration. Existing voters must pick one too. [4]
  • Officials must try to verify citizenship against government data and report county rates each year. The Legislature fills in the details. [4]
  • Cost: tens of millions to low hundreds of millions a year. [4]
Both sides
  • For: CA Republican Party, Reform California. Basic ID is normal elsewhere and builds trust.
  • Against: ACLU, Common Cause, League of Women Voters, CA Democratic Party, Sacramento Bee. It solves a non-problem and disenfranchises mail voters.
  • Poll: 43% support (PPIC, Sept 2026).

Sources 10

2 official3 reporting1 reference4 other
  1. ^ a b c KSAT/AP, Texas rejections (Apr 6, 2022) ksat.com Other
  2. ^ electionline, Texas Nov 2022 electionline.org Other
  3. ^ AP via ABC7, CA rejected ballots (July 2026) ABC7 Reporting
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i LAO Legislative Analyst Official
  5. ^ a b c d KQED/CalMatters on funders (Oct 7, 2026) KQED Reporting
  6. ^ a b c d e CalMatters guide CalMatters Reporting
  7. ^ a b c Ballotpedia News, 2026 ballot measure fundraising (Oct 26, 2026) Ballotpedia News Reference
  8. ^ CalMatters via inewsource on Reform California (Mar 4, 2026) inewsource.org Other
  9. ^ First Amendment Coalition, CPRA deadlines firstamendmentcoalition.org Other
  10. · CA SoS contributions Secretary of State Official