Proposition 39 fails as Californians reject proposed voter ID requirements
(Nury Salazar-Ibanez/Daily Bruin)
By Lilly Leonhardt
Nov. 3, 2026 10:06 p.m.
This post was updated Nov. 3 at 11:36 p.m.
Californians rejected a ballot measure that would have required voters to present government-issued identification at the polls, the Associated Press announced Tuesday.
Proposition 39 was one of 14 statewide propositions on the midterm ballot. It did not pass, with 60% of voters voting “no” as of 9:39 p.m. Tuesday, according to the AP.
The ballot measure would have required people who vote in person to present their government-issued ID and people who vote by mail to write the last four numbers of their ID on ballot envelopes. It would have also mandated election officials to “use best efforts to verify citizenship attestations using government data” and report the percentage of voters who have been verified as citizens each year.
[Related: Proposition 39 could introduce new voter ID requirements for Californians]
The bill to put the measure on the ballot was sponsored by Republican Assemblymember Carl DeMaio in partnership with Reform California, a conservative campaign organization. Proponents of the measure said it would have increased confidence and trust in elections.
Organizations such as The Transparency Foundation, which seeks accountability for public institutions, endorsed Proposition 39. The American Civil Liberties Union California Action, a nonprofit legal and advocacy organization, and Equality California, a statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights group, opposed the measure because of concerns over alleged voter suppression.
Opponents of Proposition 39 said it would contribute to President Trump’s claims of widespread voter fraud in California, though such cases have been proven to be rare, according to BBC.
