California Republicans announced Tuesday that they will begin an effort to hold a referendum on the 2026 poll that requires voter ID in elections.
Democrats resisted attempts to request voter IDs despite the fact that voter roles have been shown to include millions of inactive or ineligible voters in the past. Despite unqualified voters being enrolled through the state's “athletic voters” program. Despite general support for basic identity requirements.
Last year, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law that prevented local authorities from requiring them to vote for photo IDs after the city of Huntington Beach attempted to implement it following the successful voter ID referendum last March.
On Tuesday, a group of Republican lawmakers representing the district of California at the federal, state and local levels issued a statement announcing they are gathering signatures and forming a coalition to pass the voter ID initiative.
They said:
The coalition of elected officials and campaign committees announced its intention to help eligibility and pass the voter ID initiative in California in the 2026 election. Several members of the coalition have announced a vote showing overwhelming bipartisan support for the voter ID initiative in California, with a majority of Republicans and independents, as well as a majority of Democrats who support the initiative.
The coalition includes many federal, state and local elected officials, along with many political advocacy groups.
Members of the coalition have made clear that at least the measure is a constitutional amendment in states that requires verification of all voter registrations and citizenship of government-issued IDs to vote in elections.
The statement cited a poll showing support for California voter IDs. “The votes held by public opinion strategy against several coalition members in late January showed that 68% of voters support passing the Voter ID Act.
Not only did Sacramento Democrats not give voter IDs, they also removed Republicans from the committee, which forced the coalition to seek a referendum.
Councillor Carl DeMaio (R-San Diego) added: “Politicians and the media will continue to deny the fact that California has a real problem with election integrity, but in support of requesting public IDs, it is loud and clear as the best way to restore public trust and trust in elections.”
President Donald Trump has supported the idea of voter ID in California in the past. Statement During his January visit, he may even make his voter ID recruitment a condition that received additional federal assistance to deal with the recent wildfires in Los Angeles.
The initiative website is californiavoterid.com.
Joel B. Pollack is a senior editor at Breitbart News; Breitbart News Sunday Sirius XM Patriot will be available Sundays from 7pm to 10pm (4pm to 7pm). He is the author of Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Daysyou can pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author Trump's Virtue: Lessons and Legacy of President Donald TrumpIt is now available on Audible. He is the winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter @joelpollak.
