Proposition 39: What local voters have to say about voter identification

CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. (KESQ) – Voter identification is in the spotlight in California this year as Proposition 39 looks to make changes to elections.

Prop 39 would keep citizens from voting unless they present a form of government-issued identification. A "Yes" vote on the proposition would change California's state constitution to require voters to provide additional information when they vote.

For in-person voters, they would be required to present valid government-issued identification (like a driver's license or ID card). Citizens opting to vote-by-mail would need to write the last four digits of a government-issued number on their envelope (like their Social Security Number). If a voter fails to complete these steps, their ballot would be invalidated.

According to the official voter guide, Proposition 39 requires the state to provide a voter identification card at no cost to voters who request one. The voter identification card could be used as the government-issued identification that verifies a voter’s identity when voting.

The ballot measure would also require election officials to maintain accurate voter registration lists and use government data to verify the citizenship of voters. A State Auditor would also be required to audit government compliance during odd-numbered years.

In contrast, a "No" vote would keep things the way they are. As it stands, a voter's signature establishes the identity of the voter when a ballot is cast.

Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 1174 into law in 2024, which prohibits any local authority from creating a law that would require citizens to present ID before voting. If Prop 39 passes, it would supersede the state law.

Becki Robinson has volunteered as a voter registration coordinator with Indivisible of the Desert and Courageous Resistance for the past eight years. Every election cycle, you can find her at the Mary Pickford Theater, offering to help passing moviegoers fill out voter registration forms if they were new voters or needed to make changes to their registration.

She likened her work to helping people apply for jobs.

"When we're helping somebody fill out the voter registration form, basically what we're doing is we are helping them fill out an application for a job, and the job is to be a voter," she said. We've introduced you to her before in previous election years; with those years of experience, she thinks she's innately familiar with the process to verify voters' eligibility.

"When a registration form gets up to Sacramento or gets up to Riverside County, depending on which one is going to go to or whatever county it is in, they then vet you through all of the different databases that they have access to state and federal," she explained.

VoteCal is the voter registration database that California uses. Applications are run through departments like the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), California Department of Public Health (CDPH), California Employment Development Department (EDD), and California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Voters can access public portions of the database online.

Through this process, voters provide identifying information and attest to their citizenship and eligibility under penalty of perjury.

She continued, "They check you on all of those to make sure you are a citizen and you are eligible to vote."

Robinson was against the implementation of additional voter ID requirements. She said it would put additional roadblocks to keep voters from casting the ballots. She was firm in her belief that California's existing processes were robust enough.

"I am very confident in the system that's in place. I don't think there's anything else that we need to do," she affirmed.

News Channel 3 reached out to several groups that support Proposition 39, but our requests for comment went unanswered.

One of the organizations that supported the proposition, Californians for Voter ID, listed a statement from its chairman on its website.

"Support for Voter ID laws transcends party lines—it’s not a Republican or Democratic issue. Polls consistently show that majorities of Republicans, Democrats and Independents favor these measures … Voter ID is simply a common-sense policy. California needs to modernize its elections to align with the vast majority of the world’s democracies. While our state leads in so many areas, it lags behind on this issue. It’s time for California to catch up and enact Voter ID laws."

Julie Luckey, Chairman of Californians for Voter ID, Yes on 39

You can find more details on the proposition on California's official voter information guide. Click here to go to the Secretary of State's website.