California Republicans Seek Voter ID Ballot Measure

California Republican lawmakers are advancing a voter ID initiative for the November 2026 ballot while continuing to allege widespread election fraud. Republican Assemblymember Carl DeMaio of San Diego said in a March interview that the measure is structured to appeal to voters across the political spectrum.

He compared showing identification at the polls to using it to buy alcohol or pass airport security. DeMaio and other backers cite polling showing 56 percent of California voters support requiring identification at the ballot box and note that most states require or recommend an ID to vote.

Last month, GOP legislators held a press conference where they alleged without proof rampant corruption across state government, from elections to homelessness programs. Polling also shows that support for requiring identification at the polls drops to 39 percent when voters are told it is backed by DeMaio and could suppress turnout.

Voting rights groups say the measure would create needless barriers and would stifle turnout among low-income and disabled voters. Current law already requires counties to routinely review voter registration databases to remove anyone who is ineligible to vote in case of a move, incarceration or death.

If passed, as many as 1 million eligible voters could be kept from voting. Another 500,000 are not registered and do not have the necessary documents it would require, according to UCLA Voting Rights Project director Matt Barreto. Labor groups who bankrolled Democrats' campaign for last year's redistricting proposal, Proposition 50, are funding a similar opposition campaign focused on a proof-of-citizenship bill in Congress.

Meanwhile, Democrats want to increase penalties for violating election laws after Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco seized hundreds of thousands of ballots earlier this year over unproven claims of voter fraud in the 2025 election. Bianco supports voter ID.

Officials say there are already adequate safeguards in place. A Democratic chair of the Assembly elections committee said at a UCLA elections panel last month that ballots are never in an area without at least two people observing what is happening.

Experts agree voter fraud is rare. Fears about election integrity have risen among Republicans since former President Donald Trump falsely claimed the 2020 election was stolen, spurring GOP lawmakers across the country to introduce bills seeking to tighten voter restrictions.

This is DeMaio's third attempt at a voter ID ballot initiative. It qualified for the ballot last month.