California to vote on new restrictive ballot rules

Democracy Docket - A sweeping proposal to impose new ID requirements and restrict voting access in California has officially qualified for the November 2026 ballot.  California Secretary of State Shirley Weber confirmed Friday that an anti-voting initiative backed by Assemblymember Carl DeMaio (R) and GOP allies gathered enough valid signatures to move forward. The campaign submitted more than 962,000 signatures, clearing the final hurdle to place the measure before voters in November.

While marketed as a voter ID initiative, the measure goes significantly further, rewriting California’s constitution to impose new rules on both in-person and mail-in voting, which is how most Californians cast ballots.  If the measure is approved, voters would be required to present a government-issued ID when voting in person. For mail-in voting, the measure would require voters to write identifying information — such as the last four digits of a driver’s license, Social Security number or other document — on the outside of their ballot envelope. Election officials would then be required to verify that information before counting the ballot.