S1: Welcome in San Diego. It's Jade Hindman on this episode of KPBS Midday Edition , we're talking about what's on your ballot starting with prop 39 , which would require voter ID. This is KPBS Midday Edition. Connecting our communities through conversation. Election day is just a week away , which means it's a good time to think about the measures and races on your ballot. Today on our ballot breakdown , we're unpacking statewide proposition 39. The GOP backed effort would require voters to show ID at the polls. And while supporters say prop 39 would increase trust in elections , critics say it would lead to voter suppression. Joining me to talk about it is Izzy Bloom. She's a reporter and producer at KQED in San Francisco. Izzy , welcome to the show. Hi.
S2: Hi. Thanks for having me.
S1: Glad to have you here. So how did prop 39 make it to our ballot? Who pushed for this.
S2: So nationally , we've seen a lot of discourse about election integrity lately , especially from President Trump and his allies , as he's tried to push restrictions on not just voter ID requirements or past voter ID requirements , and also past restrictions on Mail-In voting. And amid all of that , Republican lawmakers in California put this initiative on the ballot to require voter ID , and they're pushing this as a common sense reform to just increase voter confidence in our elections. So this is led by state Assembly member Carl DeMaio from San Diego and State Senator Tony Strickland , who represents Orange County in parts of LA. Demayo has tried passing something like this in the legislature before that didn't qualify for the ballot. And Strickland represents Huntington Beach , which recently had a fight , a legal fight with the attorney general's office after the city tried to pass a charter amendment requiring voter ID. Hmm.
S1: Hmm. So with Election Day just a few weeks away. I have to repeat that because in the intro there , I said it was just a week away. I misspoke there , I didn't see that word. Um , I mean , tell me , how would prop 39 actually change the way we vote in California?
S2: So right now.
S3: In California , you're only required to show ID.
S2: When you register to vote , and prop 39 would amend the state constitution to require voters show a government issued ID when voting in person. So that could be something like a driver's license or Social Security number. And then if you vote by mail , which in the primary nearly 90% of Californians voted by mail , you'd be required to put the last four digits of a government issued ID on the outside of your mail and envelope. It also does a few other things. It would require the Secretary of state and county election officials to make their best effort to verify the citizenship status of voters , and then they would report the percentage of voters they've verified , and the state auditor would then audit counties and how well they're complying and then recommend changes in every odd year. And it also mandates that the state would issue these new free state ID cards that anyone can request for free. But when you designate at registration the ID you're using , like what , four numbers you put on your envelope? If you say choose to use your driver's license number , you have to always use your driver's license number. If you if you use a different number , like your Social Security number , that could actually invalidate your ballot. Hmm.
S1: Hmm. Um , as you mentioned , one of the bill's authors is Assembly member Carl DeMaio , who represents San Diegans in North and East County. What do supporters like him say about prop 39?
S2: So supporters.
S3: Are trying to.
S2: Really distance themselves from accusations that this is an extension of Trump's agenda. Given how blue California votes , the president hasn't taken a position on this initiative. And the Mayo's main argument is that this is , you know , a reform that both Republicans and Democrats are in favor of. I think he's referring to that. They nearly half of the signatures they gathered to qualify for the ballot were from Democrats and independents. That's what they say. Um , and essentially , he says this is , you know , we can all agree that voter confidence in elections is at an all time low. So why not just pass something that'll raise voter trust in our system? So here's what he told me.
S4: We've seen a dramatic drop in public trust and confidence in our elections. We've also seen seen very destructive and dishonest conspiracy theories on both sides. Um , and so what we need to do is make sure that we always conduct our elections with the best safeguards and the highest integrity. And voters have said they want voter I.D.. It's common sense , and it's a way to dispel conspiracy theories. Well.
S1: Well.
S2: Another argument. Oh , sorry. No.
S1: No. Go ahead.
S2: I was just going to say another argument that Strickland made is that 36 other states and other countries already have voter ID requirements. And he says , you know , in places like Georgia , voter participation increased after introducing voter ID , and opponents say that motivation is really hard to measure. It could be just as likely due to voter mobilization efforts or excitement around Obama's candidacy. Mhm.
S1: Mhm. Well , I mean , you know , we keep hearing these supporters of this point to voter fraud. Um , how big of a problem is that?
S2: Studies show there's no widespread evidence of voter fraud in U.S. elections. There was a Brookings Institute study that I think found like 3 to 15 votes out of 10 million in states with close election outcomes. Um , were fraudulent. And , you know , the president has also pushed this claim that there's a bunch of non-citizens voting. There was another national survey that found it was in 2016 , 0.0001% of votes cast. But I think it's easy to sort of fall into a feeling that there's like fraud. A lot of the concerns this year in California came from the slow vote count. And one of the talking points you'll hear from Republicans is how there was a dog that voted in Orange County in the 2021 recall election of Newsom and tried again in 2022 , but wasn't successful. Um , and Democrats responded to that by saying that actually shows the system's working because they caught the dog's owner , who's a registered Republican , and prosecuted her. Hmm.
S1: Hmm. Okay. Um , tell me , what do you opponent say about prop 39? What are their biggest concerns about how it would play out?
S2: So as you can imagine , it's a pretty partisan fight. The people opposing is like the Democratic Party gubernatorial candidate , Javier Becerra. Governor Newsom and then groups like California Common Cause , the ACLU , and the California League of Women Voters. And they're basically saying , for one , there's no widespread fraud. This is a solution to a nonexistent problem. And they see it as , um , suppressing voter turnout among eligible voters who just don't have that documentation handy. Um , so Jenny Farrell , the executive director for the League of Women Voters in California , said that it affects all voters , but disproportionately it affects certain groups. Hmm.
S1: Hmm.
S5: Um , 39. Prop 39 would actually affect every California voter. Um , but we know that additional ID requirements don't fall equally on everyone. Um , there are large gaps in terms of who possesses current valid ID with , um , you know , the current name and address. Voters in black , Latino , Asian American and Pacific Islander communities are less likely to have that current valid ID. These ID laws also present particular challenges for young voters , low income voters , voters with disabilities , and folks who have changed their names , including women who have changed their name due to marriage and transgender folks.
S2: There's also more details that the legislature would need to hash out if this passes. Like what even counts as a government issued ID? It's not spelled out in the initiative. And , um , you know , that could be like a public housing ID or a student ID , gun registration ID or tribal ID , and what form of ID the legislature lands on could privilege certain age , racial and socioeconomic groups?
S1: You know , what do voter ID laws look like in other states that have them?
S2: So there are 36 other states that have some form of voter ID requirement. It depends state by state how strict it is. Some require like an unexpired photo ID , and then others will accept an expired one or something that doesn't have a photo , like a utility bill or a bank statement. Um , but again , you know , prop 39 leaves it up to the legislature to , um , identify not only what kind of ID they allow , but even , like , what does a best effort to verify citizenship status even mean? Hmm.
S1: Hmm. What kind of impact have these laws had in those states?
S2: In those states? Um , I mean , you know , there's a lot of new laws passed in GOP controlled states this year , I think , mirroring policies that Trump has tried to pass on a national level. Um , I think it's more than three dozen that have like some kind of new law taking effect this year. Things like.
S1: I mean , have they suppressed have. Have they suppressed the vote?
S2: I mean , that's the thing is , Republicans will say that it has increased voter participation that it like because it increases trust in the election system. But the motivation is really hard to measure. Right.
S1: Right. Right. I want to talk about the fundraising behind this effort too , because I know it's attracting donors from out of state. So who's funding this?
S2: So , um , there's a right wing political group , Reform California , that was created by Carl DeMaio , that has been putting money in and a group called Californians for voter ID , um , chaired by Julie Luckey , who's the mother of a tech billionaire , Palmer Luckey , who's a long time Trump supporter. They have , um , actually a lot of donors from Republicans from out of the state , which maybe indicates that they see this as like a test case for the future. Um , like Illinois billionaire Richard Uihlein , who owns a shipping supply company , contributed 17 million. Um , Airbnb co-founder Joe Juba. Um , even , uh , RFK Junior's former running mate in the 2024 election , Nicole Shanahan , also contributed. So. Total spending for the measure is $36.5 million. And against it you have 29 , almost 29 million now , um , which comes from the Democratic Party. And then a lot of like labor unions , like the Nurses Association , and also 2 million from the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria up here in the Northern California.
S1: Lots of money coming into this one. So what what did the latest poll say about prop 39? Do we know whether it's likely to pass?
S2: The latest poll from mid September from the Berkeley um IGS , the Institute of Governmental Studies has it trailing by a 13 percentage point margin. So 52%. No. 39%. Yes.
S1: All right. well , I've been speaking with Izzy Bloom. She's a producer and reporter at KQED in San Francisco. You can learn more about the measures and races on your ballots at the KPBS Voter Hub. Just head on over to kpbs.org. Hey , Izzy , thank you so very much , I appreciate you.
S2: Thank you.
S1: That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.
