It’s officially election day for the 2026 midterms, meaning that a lot of Californians are carving some time out of their busy days to sift through propositions that are packed with political jargon that is bound to confuse the average voter.
On the statewide ballot for this year, there are a total of 14 propositions, marking the highest number of measures that have appeared on the statewide ballot for California since the 2016 midterm election. Among those 14 measures is Prop. 39, which has also been dubbed the “voter ID measure.” Here’s a quick breakdown on Prop. 39.
Pulling Back the Curtain on Prop. 39
Prop. 39, or California’s “voter ID measure,” is a citizen-initiated measure put forth by state representative Carl DeMaio (R), state senator Tony Strickland (R), and CEO and co-founder of Pedego Electric Bikes, Donald DiCostanzo. According to Ballotpedia, a nonpartisan online encyclopedia for all things involving American politics, Prop. 39 would require California voters to either provide a government-issued ID when voting in person at the polls or list the last four numbers that appear on their government-issued ID when voting by mail. Those who show up at the polls without a government-issued ID would not be able to vote, nor would mail-in ballots count if they lacked the last four digits provided on a Californian’s government-issued ID.
In addition to this, Prop. 39 would mandate that election officials verify the citizenship of California voters and keep factual voter registration lists. This proposition would also mandate that the State Auditor check how well the proposition is being implemented during odd-numbered years and publish their findings. Additionally, the State Auditor would be required to put forth recommendations on how to improve election security in the future.
Existing Law
Based on existing law, Californians are not required to provide a government-issued ID during any part of the voting process. In addition, currently citizenship is attested by voters under penalty of perjury, meaning that individuals can be charged with a felony crime of perjury if they knowingly make or sign a false statement.
What’s more, when registering to vote, Californians must provide identifying information such as their social security number, birthdate, or driver’s license. Under current law, election officials do not have to disclose citizenship verification rates, nor do they have to verify voter attestations of citizenship.
What are Supporters and Critics of the Proposition Saying?
Supporters of the Proposition have advertised Prop. 39 as a “non-partisan solution to voter ID,” arguing that Prop. 39 will strengthen election security and restore faith in California’s electoral process. Supporters of Prop. 39 have also argued that the proposition will increase voter turnout in elections, something critics of the proposition have argued is far from the truth.
Critics of Prop. 39 have argued that Prop. 39, which would cost “between tens of millions of dollars [to] low hundreds of millions of dollars each year,” would waste a substantial amount of taxpayer dollars.
Additionally, critics of the proposition have argued that by requiring voters to provide the last four digits of their government-issued ID on election materials, the proposition increases the risk of identity theft. Moreover, critics have suggested that Prop. 39 creates more room for voters to make simple errors, from messing up the last four digits on their government-issued ID to misspelling their names, which would result in otherwise eligible votes being rejected. Individuals have also expressed concerns about the proposition potentially making it harder for already marginalized individuals to vote.
Potential Implications of Prop. 39
DaHae Kim, the Policy and Advocacy Manager on the VoteRiders Legal Team, a nonpartisan voting rights organization, responded to concerns regarding voter fraud in the U.S., noting that, “Voter ID requirements are often presented as a way to prevent fraud or improve election integrity, but research has repeatedly shown that voter fraud is already virtually nonexistent. There is no data whatsoever to support the misguided claim that rampant election fraud is happening in the United States.” She elaborated on her last point, conceding that “The vast majority of alleged incidents of voter fraud are actually traceable to other sources, such as clerical or administrative errors.”
Kim also remarked that Prop. 39’s provision for mail-in ballots puts voters at risk of identity theft, “If Proposition 39 becomes law, every mail[-in] voter would have to send their sensitive ID information in the mail, which carries serious identity theft risks.”
For Jenny Farrell, the executive director of the League of Women Voters of California, a nonpartisan organization that opposes Prop. 39, a large concern is that many marginalized groups “are less likely to have their required ID.”
Farrell continued stating, “And those people include people with disabilities, lower-income folks, communities of color, younger folks who move around a lot and [people whose] address may change frequently, people experiencing housing instability, women or members of our trans community who have changed their name . . . . These are all people where their current name and address may not match what’s on their voter file and may not be consistent with whatever their current identification is, and these are the people who get tripped up and harmed by these voter ID laws.”
According to Farrell, when the state of Texas implemented similar voter ID requirements, “they had a 12% ballot rejection rate which is about 1 in 8 [ballots being rejected].” As for what this would mean for California voters, Farrell said, “if you take that same rejection rate of about 12% and apply it to the millions of California voters who vote by mail, you’re looking at millions of ballots [being] rejected.”
Where can you vote?
To find out your polling location, go to sos.ca.gov, input your address in the provided search bar, and press enter. A map with icons indicating voting locations will pop up on the right and polling location hours will be displayed on the left.
Moreover, if you are a UCI student, there are three campus vote centers made accessible to you. These include the Gateway Study Center, Verano Community Center, and the University Hills Community Center.
On November 3rd, all three campus vote centers will be open between the hours of 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Additionally, UCI has a ballot drop box located in the Lot 5 parking lot which is open 24/7 from now until November 3rd at 8 p.m.