Elections in California are a mess, there’s no doubt. If a proposed ballot initiative related to voter ID qualifies for the ballot and passes, though, the Democrat reign of terror in the state could be over.
A number of elected officials and interest groups in the state have formed a coalition called Californians for Voter ID, and on Tuesday they announced their intention to “support the qualification of and passage of a Voter ID Initiative in California in the 2026 election.”
While the full text of the proposed initiative isn’t yet available, according to the Reform California website here’s what it would do:
The initiative amends the California state constitution to restore election integrity by requiring 1) verification of voter ID for all future elections, 2) proper review of citizenship and eligibility when individuals initially register to vote for the first time, and 3) accurate maintenance of voter rolls going forward to remove people who die and who move out of the state.
Does it have a chance of being qualified and passing? Judging by the overwhelming victory of 2024’s Proposition 36, which rolled back a number of criminal justice “reforms,” yes. Surprisingly, when Californians vote on issues and not candidates for partisan office, they vote much more conservatively than one might expect. Voters rejected an affirmative action initiative and supported an initiative to protect the gig economy (which the unions heavily fought). And, like the public safety/criminal justice issue, multiple polls show broad support from Californians for voter ID laws.
In announcing his support of the initiative, Asm. Bill Essayli (R-Corona) said:
68% of CA Voters SUPPORT Voter ID, including 52% of Democrats, 70% of Independents, and 93% of Republicans.Â
🚨BREAKING: CA VOTER ID BALLOT MEASURE ANNOUNCEMENT
Sacramento Democrats kicked me off the Assembly Elections Committee for fighting for YOU, but we don’t need them. We’re going around the Legislature to bring common sense Voter ID to California Elections. We are going to… pic.twitter.com/8oKLE0zAtf
— Bill Essayli (@billessayli) March 11, 2025
In his video, Essayli demonstrates how people can register to vote online in California without giving a drivers license number or the last four digits of a Social Security number. Governor Gavin Newsom and his acolytes argue that citizenship verification is done behind the scenes, but that verification process is simply verifying that a drivers license number or four digits purporting to be the last four of someone’s Social Security Number are present. One Democrat city councilman in San Joaquin County, Shakir Khan, was criminally charged after illegally registering 70 (yes, that’s seven-zero) people to vote in California, some of whom were not citizens. At least one non-citizen cast a vote.
