California to vote in November on whether to require mandatory ID at the polls

The California Voter ID Initiative was placed on the ballot for the November election. Therefore, Californians will be able to choose whether the state should require voters to present some form of identification when voting, either in person or remotely. According to the local secretary of state's office, supporters of the measure submitted nearly 1 million valid signatures to include the slogan in the upcoming election, when the floor was 875,000.

To be approved, the November 3 ballot initiative will need a simple majority, that is, half plus one of the votes.

The measure, proposed by Republican Assemblyman Carl DeMaio, would require voters to present an ID when voting in person. If voting by mail, they should include an identification number on mail-in ballots, such as the last few digits of a driver's license. Responsibility for verifying the citizenship of registered voters would pass to the election registrars in each county.

"The California Voter ID Initiative is a common-sense and bipartisan way to restore the trust and confidence all voters should have in our election system," DeMaio said via a statement.

"Our measure simply holds government officials accountable to maintain accurate voter lists and verify the identity of individuals casting ballots in our elections. Other states that have implemented Voter ID programs have seen an increase in participation in their elections, including an increase in minority voting," he added.

As for money to spend on campaigning, Politico reported that the 'Californians for Voter ID' committee raised approximately $8.8 million in 2025. They are expected to raise much more during the weeks leading up to the election.

Under the electoral system currently in place in California, voter identity is verified only at the time of registration, but not at the time of voting. Today, voters must identify themselves at registration, for example, with a driver's license or Social Security number and an affidavit of citizenship, but then they can vote without presenting identification in person.

Republicans argue that the lack of in-person identity verification weakens the democratic process, as it makes it difficult to detect irregularities and opens the door to potential voter fraud or impersonation.