Republican initiative for voter ID in California gathers enough support for ballot measure [View all]

Source: The Guardian

Tue 3 Mar 2026 14.08 EST
Last modified on Tue 3 Mar 2026 18.05 EST


Republican organizers in California announced they have gathered enough signatures to place a measure that would require voters in the state to present identification every time they vote and for election officials to verify that registered voters are US citizens on the ballot this November.

Proponents of the measure announced that they have collected 1.3m signatures on a petition to put the issue on to the ballot for a vote in the midterm elections, surpassing the 874,641 signatures needed under California state law. Officials must now verify the signatures.

Under the current law, Californians are not required to show or provide identification when casting a ballot in person or by mail. They are, however, required to provide identification when registering to vote. Voters must also swear under penalty of perjury – a felony – that they are a US citizen eligible to vote.

The campaign for tightened voter identification laws in California has largely been spearheaded by Carl DeMaio, a Republican state assembly member. DeMaio received fundraising assistance from Julie Luckey, mother of tech entrepreneur and Donald Trump supporter Palmer Luckey. Californians for Voter ID, the campaign committee founded by Julie Luckey, raised nearly $10m to support the ballot measure, according to DeMaio. California’s ballot measure coincides with a national push from Republicans to tighten voting eligibility.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/03/republican-voter-id-california-ballot-measure