Voter ID ballot measure supporters submit signatures in Riverside County ...Middle East

Backers of a measure that would require Californians to show ID when they vote have submitted what they said were more than 1.3 million signatures from voters — more than enough to get the proposal on the November ballot.

Voter ID supporters held a news conference Monday, March 2, outside the Riverside County Registrar of Voters headquarters in Riverside, where they dropped off the signatures collected by an army of volunteers statewide.

Supporters chose Riverside to submit the signatures because Riverside County “was a major source for signatures” and also “was also a central location for all stakeholders in this initiative,” said José Hernández, spokesperson for Californians for Voter ID.

Reform California, a group led by Republican San Diego County Assemblymember Carl DeMaio, is spearheading the initiative, which supporters described as a common-sense way to restore public trust in democracy.

“If Californians lose confidence in the integrity of our elections, we’re at risk of losing faith in the foundation that upholds the system of government,” Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona, said at the event as people held “Require Voter ID” signs.

Other speakers included state Sen. Tony Strickland, R-Huntington Beach, who fought for a voter ID law in that city when he was a city councilmember.

“Every vote that’s fraudulent takes a vote away from someone who has that right to vote,” he said. “For the future of democracy, it’s important that we have these safeguards.”

Opponents said mandatory voter ID is unnecessary and could disenfranchise voters, especially women and people of color who might have a harder time getting IDs.

“This initiative isn’t about election security,” Abdi Soltani, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, said in a news release. “It’s about erecting barriers that will keep eligible Californians from exercising their fundamental right to vote as citizens.”

DeMaio countered that voter participation has increased in states with mandatory voter ID.

If passed, the ballot measure would require California voters to present a government-issued ID when they go to the polls.

Those voting by mail would have to write the last four digits of a government ID on their ballot envelope. The measure also mandates free voter ID cards to eligible voters who request one and requires election officials to verify the citizenship of all registered voters.

Unable to get a voter ID law though the Democratic-controlled state legislature, DeMaio and others are taking their case to voters.

To qualify, the ballot measure needs signatures from roughly 875,000 registered California voters. Large-scale statewide ballot measure campaigns usually get more signatures than required in case some are deemed invalid.

Going forward, elections staff will verify signatures collected from voters in their respective counties. Assuming the 875,000-signature threshold is met, the measure will go on the Nov. 3 ballot.

DeMaio said a broad cross section of voters from all backgrounds signed the ballot measure petition. Close to a majority of signatures came from registered Democrats and no-party-preference voters, he said.

“If you need an ID to board an airplane or buy a pack of cigarettes or get a case of beer, you should make it pretty easy to use an ID to vote in an election,” DeMaio added.

Thirty-six of 50 U.S. states require voters to show some form of ID in order to cast a ballot. Last month, the GOP-controlled House of Representatives passed the SAVE Act requiring voter ID and for voters to prove their citizenship when they register, although the bill’s prospects in the Senate are unclear.

Critics argue California’s elections are already secure, with voters’ identities checked and verified during registration, polling place check-ins and when ballots are processed.

Requiring voter ID, critics say, could lead to long lines at polls that could discourage people from voting. It also increases the chances voters’ personal data could be stolen and a simple mistake — a wrong government ID digit on a ballot envelope, for example — could throw legitimate ballots out, opponents argue.

“This voter ID measure is not about protecting voters,” Jenny Farrell, executive director of the League of Women Voters of California, said in a news release. “It is about importing the current federal administration’s election lies and intimidation tactics into California.”

Voter ID backers maintain the practice would stop election fraud.

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An Associated Press analysis found 475 cases of voter fraud out of more than 25 million ballots cast in six battleground states during the 2020 presidential election — far too few to have tipped the election in Joe Biden’s favor.

Also, “almost no elections in the past 50 years have been flipped because of documented voter fraud, with occasional exceptions at the local level,” The Washington Post reported in 2022.

Calvert noted that California GOP Reps. Michelle Steel and John Duarte each lost reelection in 2024 by fewer than 1,000 votes — significant outcomes when the House majority depends on a handful of seats.

For those arguing that voter fraud isn’t a problem, “what difference does (the voter ID ballot measure) make?” DeMaio said.

He later added: “We want to improve public trust and confidence (in elections), and we want to put an end to conspiracy theorists. This is about good government, it’s about best practices and that’s why it’s going to pass in November.”

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