An initiative to amend the California Constitution to require voters to show identification to cast a ballot has gathered enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot, proponents say.
Assemblymember Carl DeMaio (R-San Diego), who is also the chairman of the political action committee Reform California Chairman, announced on Monday, March 2, the collection of more than 1.3 million signatures in favor of a California voter ID initiative.
The signatures will be sent to county election officials for verification this week, he said.
“This is truly an amazing day for California democracy,” DeMaio said at a news conference. “This initiative is where the people rise up and say that we want a better government. We want trust and confidence back in our election.”
California does not require ID to vote
California is one of 14 states in the country that do not require voters to present identification to cast a ballot, according to Ballotpedia.
This is something the President Donald Trump’s administration aims to change with the SAVE Act, which would require voters to show proof of citizenship when registering vote and a photo ID to vote in federal elections.
Both the Campaign Legal Center and the Brennan Center for Justice, however, say the bill would create new barriers for Americans who are otherwise eligible to vote.
The House has passed the SAVE Act, but the proposed legislation is currently stalled in the Senate.
Republican politicians push for voter IDS in California
DeMaio’s push for a voter ID initiative in the Golden State is not new.
DeMaio, a conservative activist and podcast host, first launched a campaign for a Voter ID initiative in California in August 2023, more than a year before he was elected to the California State Assembly.
Once on the Assembly, DeMaio authored a bill to require voter ID and proof of citizenship to register to vote.
“There is a cancer growing in our democracy where too many California voters do not trust in our elections,” DeMaio said in a January 2025 news release. “California voters will not have the confidence they deserve that we have fraud-free elections — until we enact this common-sense voter ID law.”
The proposed legislation, however, was rejected by California lawmakers in April 2025, The Los Angeles Times reported.
Shortly after, DeMaio announced his plans to “launch a campaign to qualify his proposal as a statewide ballot initiative for the 2026 election,” the Times reported.
How many signatures are needed to get initiative on a ballot?
To get on the November ballot, the initiative requires 874,641 signatures, according to Ballotpedia.
What are the parameters of the proposed initiative?
“Our measure simply holds government officials accountable to maintain accurate voter lists and verify the identity of individuals casting ballots in our elections,” DeMaio said in the release.
The measure would amend the California Constitution in the following ways, according to proponents:
What proponents say
DeMaio called the push for a California voter ID initiative a “true grassroots, broad-based, bipartisan movement.”
“It’s about good government,” DeMaio said.
Based on the signatures collected, DeMaio said that a majority of Democrats and a supermajority of Independents and Republicans support the initiative.
“In November, by voting to enact the California voter ID initiative, we will strike a blow for democracy,” DeMaio said. “We will improve public trust and confidence in our elections.”
Sen. Tony Strickland (R-Huntington Beach) spoke at the Monday news conference with DeMaio and others announcing the initiative’s milestone, saying, “Every vote that’s fraudulent takes a vote away from someone who has that right to vote,” The Press-Enterprise reported.
“For the future of democracy, it’s important that we have these safeguards,” Strickland said, the newspaper reported.
What opponents say
The League of Women Voters of California joined civil rights and other community organizations, such as the ACLU and California Common Cause, in condemning the California voter ID initiative.
“This voter ID measure is not about protecting voters; it is about importing the current federal administration’s election lies and intimidation tactics into California,” Jenny Farrell, Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of California, said in a March 2 release. “It would expose voters’ sensitive personal information, create new ways to reject eligible ballots, and wrongly target voters through error-prone citizenship checks.”
The nonprofit goes on to say, “California’s elections are already secure,” adding that “election officials verify voter identity at every stage of the process — at registration, at check-in, and during ballot processing.”
With no widespread evidence of voter impersonation of noncitizen voting, the nonprofit said an ID requirement is not justified.
“This initiative isn’t about election security, it’s about erecting barriers that will keep eligible Californians from exercising their fundamental right to vote as citizens,” Abdi Soltani, executive director of the ACLU of Northern California, said in the release.
What happens now that signatures have been submitted?
Now that the signatures for the initiative have been submitted, a formal validation process will begin, proponents say. California’s 58 counties will verify the more than 1.3 million signatures, a process that must be completed by May.
Should at least 874,641 signatures be verified, the initiative will appear on the November 2026 statewide ballot.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Voter ID measure may appear on California ballot. What to know
Reporting by Daniella Segura, Palm Springs Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
