GET READY TO VOTE

• What’s at stake?
• What about verifying citizenship?
• Why now?
• <b>Here’s what supporters say</b>
• <b>Here’s what opponents say</b>
• Potential financial impact
• Follow the money

This initiative would change California’s constitution to require voters to provide a government-issued ID when they cast a ballot. Mail-in voters would have to include the last four digits of their ID on the ballot envelope. The measure would also require election officials to use “best efforts,” using government data to verify that voters on registration rolls are U.S. citizens, and to report annually the percentage verified.

What’s at stake?

Voter ID. This would be a big change from how voting currently works in California.

Right now, election officials verify a voter’s identity when they register to vote. They also verify that the signature on a voter’s mail-in ballot matches the signature in their voter registration file.

But voters do not have to provide ID every time they cast a ballot.

Prop. 39 would change that and require voters to present a government-issued ID every time they vote.

The initiative would also shrink the long list of documents the state currently accepts as proof of identity and residency for voting purposes. If Prop. 39 passes, only government-issued IDs, such as a driver’s license, passport, or state ID card, would be accepted.

The measure would require California to offer free state ID cards to eligible voters who lack another type of government-issued ID.

What about verifying citizenship?

Currently, when someone registers to vote in California, they do not have to provide proof of citizenship. Rather, they have to check a box on their registration form attesting to being a U.S. citizen and California resident.

Lying on that form is a crime (perjury) punishable by fines and jail time.

Prop. 39 wouldn’t change that process.

What it would do is require election officials to make “best efforts” to verify the citizenship of people on voter registration rolls by cross-referencing their information against government data.

Why now?

According to a recent UC Berkeley poll, just 22% of California Republicans surveyed have confidence in the election system, compared to 88% of Democrats. The two Republican legislators who proposed Prop. 39 see it as a step toward remedying that distrust.

President Donald Trump has also increasingly cast doubt on the integrity of elections across the U.S., including the claim that large numbers of noncitizens are voting. Efforts to find and prosecute noncitizen voters have thus far turned up few culprits.

But there have been a handful of recent cases in the news of noncitizens registering to vote, including a Honduran green card-holder who was charged with voter fraud in August. Last year, an election integrity activist in Orange County was charged with fraud for registering and voting for her dog.

Here’s what supporters say

• Supporters of Prop. 39 say requiring voter ID is a common sense reform to increase trust in the electoral process while maintaining voter conveniences including mail-in ballots. Supporters note that polling has found widespread support for voter ID across political parties. They also say using a voter’s signature on their mail-in ballot to verify identity, as California currently does, delays election results and causes some valid voters to have their ballots rejected.
  
• Notable supporters: California Republican Party, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton, U.S. Congressman Ken Calvert (CA-41), Republican state Senator. Tony Strickland (Huntington Beach), Republican Assemblymember Carl DeMaio (San Diego).

Here’s what opponents say

• Opponents of Prop. 39 note that documented voter fraud is extremely rare. They say the initiative feeds into Trump’s false claims of widespread election fraud, and would unfairly shut out eligible voters who make simple mistakes, like mixing up their ID number when writing it on their ballot envelope. They also say the federal government’s current system for verifying state voters’ eligibility is prone to error. 
  
• Notable opposition: California Democratic Party, UCLA Voting Rights Project, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, California Labor Federation

Potential financial impact

The state Legislative Analyst’s Office estimates that implementing Prop. 39 could cost anywhere from tens of millions to several hundred million dollars. Read the full analysis here.

Follow the money

LAist’s Voter Game Plan will include more campaign financing information as we get closer to Election Day.

Go deeper

• Read the full text of the initiative here. 
• Prop 39 official voter guide
• Proposition 39 author says ballot initiative ‘not the same’ as Trump’s efforts to constrict voting
• Legislative Analyst’s Office report
• Yes on Prop 39 website
• No on Prop 39 website