Proposition 39 tightens voter identification requirements for in-person and mail-in ballots in California. Below is a transcript of the video above. Read our voter guide story on Prop. 39 here, along with the editorial board's take on the issue.
There's a measure on your California ballot that could change how you vote. It's called Proposition 39. Let's talk about it.
If Prop. 39 passes, you'd have to show a government-issued photo ID every time you vote in person. Voting by mail? You'd write the last four digits of an ID number — your driver's license, for example — on the return envelope.
Don't have an ID? The state would be required to give you a free voter ID card, no charge, if you ask for one.
There's a second piece, too. Election officials would have to use government data to check that registered voters are U.S. citizens, then publish those results every year.
So who's behind this? Republican Assemblymember Carl DeMaio is leading the charge. He calls it a commonsense fix to rebuild trust in elections. The yes campaign has pulled in more than $24 million, a lot of it from right-leaning billionaires.
On the other side: Democrats like Governor Gavin Newsom and Nancy Pelosi, as well as voting rights groups. They argue it would keep eligible people from voting to solve a problem — in-person voter fraud — that research shows is extremely rare.
Implementing voter ID won't be cheap either. State analysts estimate it would cost tens of millions dollars — or even hundreds of millions — every year.
This November, it's up to you. Yes or No on Prop 39.
This report was produced with the assistance of a proprietary tool powered by artificial intelligence based on our own originally reported, written and published content. Before publishing, journalists reviewed this content in compliance with McClatchy Media's AI policy.
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