What is Proposition 39?

On the Nov. 3 midterm ballot, Proposition 39 requires California voters to show government ID when they cast their ballot at polling places. Currently, California voters only have to provide ID when they register to vote, and no ID is required to vote at a polling place.

READ MORE: What’s on the Nov. 3 ballot?

Proposition 39 would also require government officials to keep record of and verify citizenship of the voters and requires mail-in voters to provide further ID information on their ballot envelope.  

What is the purpose of Proposition 39?

According to the California Republican Party, they created the proposition to make the California voting process more trustworthy. Supporters believe Proposition 39 will decrease voter fraud by requiring further identification at polling places. 

Currently, California mail-in ballots are verified by voting signatures, but Proposition 39 would require the last four digits on a voter’s Social Security number or digits from another government identification, such as a driver’s license, to be written on a voter’s ballot envelope. 

Supporters of this argument claim that this will make verifying voters simpler and faster. 

READ MORE: Who are the California governor candidates?

Proposition 39 supporters currently have raised about $28.4 million for their campaign. Opponents have raised $3.93 million, according to CalMatters. 

Opinion on Proposition 39

Ed Cabrera, director of voter service for nonpartisan political organization San Luis Obispo League of Women Voters, noted the organization’s thoughts on Proposition 39. 

Cabrera acknowledged Republicans’ argument that the language in the California Voter Guide about Proposition 39 may create negative connotations on the proposition’s goal. 

For example, Cabrera noted the phrase “prohibits citizens from voting” used in the California Voter Guide to describe voters needing ID to vote at a polling place creates negativity around the proposition as voters are learning about it. 

However, he stated that the San Luis Obispo Women League of Voters is still against the proposition. 

Cabrera said he believes the Heritage Foundation’s voter fraud study, a conservative think tank often cited by the Trump administration, does not have convincing data to prove voter fraud.

The Heritage Foundation states their study is a “sampling of proven instances” of voter fraud and found about 1,100 cases of voter fraud throughout the United States from 1981 to 2025. 

Cabrera said the 1,100 cases of voter fraud is relatively low compared to about 1 billion voters that have lawfully cast their ballot in the last four decades. California is reported to 71 cases of voter fraud, according to the Heritage Foundation study.  

“You’re more likely to see a unicorn on Higuera [Street] than you are to see voter fraud,” Cabrera said. 

Cabrera said the main reason the San Luis Obispo Women League of Voters does not support Proposition 39 is they believe the proposition will create unnecessary barriers to voting when they believe the current voting process is already trustworthy. 

“We’re already secure,” Cabrera said. “Volunteer to work at the polling place, and you find there’s check after check after check.”

Cabrera said the proposition causes issues for people who change their name. For example, someone who is divorced may struggle to vote in-person if their ID does not match up with their recently changed name, according to Cabrera. 

Along with that, low-income voters may face financial barriers if they do not have a physical ID. Cabrera added that even with California promising voters a free government ID, there might be financial burdens such as having access to transportation to a Department of Motor Vehicles location. 

“The League of Women Voters wants to make voting easier. It seems like other people want to make it harder,” Cabrera said. 

Effect on local government

While the effect on this proposition can only be measured if it is passed, Erin Clausen, the public information specialist for the San Luis Obispo Clerk-Recorder, Elaina Cano, noted the potential impacts.

One of them being how people vote.

The Clerk Recorder’s Office counts the ballots for each election. According to Clausen, 95% of voters in the county vote by mail, use drop-off boxes or drop off their ballot at polling places.

“The current system requires a unique bar code and a verifiable signature on the envelope,” Clausen wrote in an email to Mustang News. “Would all of those 100,000+ voters feel comfortable with additional, private info on there? I don’t know.”

Proponents for Proposition 39 argue adding a voter’s government digits will speed up the counting votes process. However, Clausen disagrees. 

Clausen said the most time consuming part of the voting counting process for San Luis Obispo County goes towards extracting the ballots from the envelope, running it through the machine that counts the votes and determining a voter’s choices when the machine cannot identify them. None of these processes would change if Proposition 39 is passed, according to Clausen. 

“I don’t really see how [Proposition 39] would speed up vote counting,” Clausen wrote. 

Additionally, Proposition 39 does not guarantee support for the Clerk Recorder’s Office for its requirement of counties to verify all their voters are citizens. 

Clausen has not received any information on how local officials would practically implement this or if they will receive any additional funding or staff. 

“As a small elections staff serving 180,000+ registered voters, [having to verify citizenship] could have a very real impact on us,” Clausen wrote. “But whenever the law changes, we adjust. This might be a bigger adjustment than some, but we’d have to figure it out because that’s the job.”