Two California Republicans are looking to bring a voter identification law to the ballot next year.
Asm. Carl DeMaio (R–Escondido) and Asm. Bill Essayli (R–Corona) announced Tuesday that they are forming a committee to collect signatures to put a voter ID law in front of the voters.
Driving the news: Essayli and DeMaio introduced Assembly Bill 25 in December to require voter ID in California.
- But such a law will likely never pass through the state Legislature in its current form with a Democratic supermajority.
The big picture: Political group Reform California, which is led by DeMaio, is leading a coalition to gather enough support to place the law on the ballot.
- Reform Califonrnia announced polling that showed 68% of Californians support requiring an ID when casting a ballot.
- Along with requiring ID, the measure would require California to accurately maintain voter rolls, have proper verification of ballot signatures and audit elections to ensure full compliance with federal, state and local laws.
- The measure needs more than 1 million signatures to qualify for the ballot in 2026.
What they’re saying: “Politicians and the media will keep denying the fact that California has real problems with election integrity, but the message from the public is loud and clear in support of requiring Voter ID as the best way to restore public trust and confidence in our elections,” DeMaio said.
- Essayli added, “There is a cancer growing in our democracy where too many people have lost confidence in our elections – and enacting a Voter ID law should be seen as the best bipartisan solution to this problem.”
- Californians for Voter ID director Julie Luckey noted that 36 states have some form of voder ID requirements, along with every country in Europe and many others across the world.
- “Support for voter ID laws transcends party lines – it’s not a Republican or Democratic issue,” Luckey said. “Polls consistently show that majorities of Republicans, Democrats, and independents favor these measures. Nor is this unique to the United States; it’s a global norm. Voter ID is simply a common-sense policy. California needs to modernize its elections to align with the vast majority of the world’s democracies. While our state leads in so many areas, it lags behind on this issue. It’s time for California to catch up and enact voter ID laws.”
