California, one of the most solidly blue states in the nation, could be voting on adopting voter ID—an initiative that President Donald Trump called for the state to adopt as a condition for continued federal aid.
Republican state legislators launched the ballot initiative drive late last week to gain 1 million signatures after failing to gain sufficient support for a voter ID requirement in the Democrat-controlled legislature for a bill in December.
California state Assemblyman Carl DeMaio, also the chairman of the advocacy group Reform California, and Assemblyman Bill Essayli, chairman of the advocacy group Common-Sense California, are leading the effort for the 2026 general election.
“This could fundamentally change how we do elections in California,” Essayli told The Daily Signal.
Supporters aim to raise $7 million, with the signature drive to kick off in the fall for a 180-day window, Essayli said.
A Public Opinion Strategies poll, commissioned by supporters, last week found that 68% of likely California voters support voter ID. That’s still less than a national poll from October that found 86% that support voter ID.
Essayli stressed a majority of states have voter ID laws, and the U.S. Supreme Court upheld it.
“Once this is on the ballot, this is something you don’t have to educate and don’t have to persuade,” Essayli said. “The only group that is opposed to voter ID is elected Democrats.”
In January, there was a dustup between Trump and California Gov. Gavin Newsom when Trump said voter ID should be a condition for federal funding, when asked about the Los Angeles wildfires.
“I want to see two things in Los Angeles, voter ID, so that the people have a chance to vote and I want to see the water be released and come down into Los Angeles and throughout the state,” Trump said in January. “After that, I will be the greatest president that California has ever seen.”
The same day, Newsom’s office posted on X, “Under current CA law you must be a CA resident and US citizen (and attest to being one under penalty of perjury) AND provide a form of ID such as driver’s license or passport that has been approved by the Secretary of State in order to register to vote.”
Newsom’s office added, “15 states do not generally require voter ID at polls, including Nevada and Pennsylvania (two states won by President Trump).”
Essayli then posted that under California law, a public transit card, utility bill, and Medi-Cal card—which are available to illegal immigrants—can be used as proof of residence during voter registration.
After Huntington Beach, California adopted a voter ID requirement for city elections, the state of California sued, and the state legislature enacted a ban on voter ID that took effect on Jan. 1. California Democrats claimed ID requirement suppressed voting.
Trump later noted that California law bans asking for photo ID to vote, stating in a February Truth Social post, “VOTER I.D. IS TOTALLY BARRED! IN FACT, IT IS ILLEGAL FOR VOTING OFFICIALS TO EVEN ASK TO SEE A PERSONS IDENTIFICATION. This cannot be made up!”
As noted in my book, “The Myth of Voter Suppression,” voter turnout is higher in states with voter ID laws, and opponents of ID requirements have never pointed to an instance of an eligible voter prevented from voting because of the law.
“Voter ID is a common sense step that improves election security, which is why it receives broad support among Democrats, Republicans and independents throughout California. By passing a Voter ID initiative in California we can give voters increased confidence in our elections without unnecessarily restricting access to voting,” U.S. Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Calif, said in a public statement.
Given the liberal legislature and a liberal governor, a ballot initiative is the only way an otherwise popular voter ID law could be adopted in California, said Hans von Spakovsky, manager of the Election Law Reform Initiative at The Heritage Foundation.
“Voters in California–despite it being a very liberal state–overwhelmingly support voter ID just like the whole rest of the country,” von Spakovsky told The Daily Signal.
He added, “Getting a referendum on the ballot is a great idea. If they can get it on, I think it will pass in the same way many years ago voters in California—again despite it being a very liberal state—passed a referendum saying race could not be use in college admissions in state schools there, and that was overwhelmingly passed including by a majority of Hispanics in the state.”
Nationally, a “majority of voters, no matter what their race, no matter what their ethnicity, no matter which political party, all think it is a common sense requirement,” von Spakovsky said.
“It might help stop some of the voter fraud that goes on in the state,” he added. “Even if they get it passed, they may have a problem with election officials not wanting to enforce it. But the first step is getting it in place.”
