California Prop 39 explained: The voter ID initiative on the Nov. 3 ballot
The constitutional amendment would require government-issued ID to vote in person and ID digits on mail ballots, plus citizenship checks of voter rolls.
By the Bay Area Brief staff · Edited by Seamus McKenna · · 3 min read
California State Capitol in Sacramento on a sunny day. Photo: Mackinacbridge / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 (cropped, resized and color-graded). Archive photo of the area; not a photo of the events in this story.
Proposition 39 would require Californians to present government-issued identification to vote, according to the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) and CalMatters.
Why it matters: About 16 million Californians voted in November 2024, and about 13 million of them voted by mail, according to the LAO. Prop 39 would change how all of them prove who they are.
How voting works now
In-person voters typically sign a roster. Mail voters sign their ballot envelope, and officials check those signatures before counting.
What it would do
Require government-issued ID to vote in person.
Require mail voters to write the last four digits of a government ID on their envelope.
Require officials to verify citizenship of registered voters using government data.
Have the state provide free voter ID cards.
The vote
A yes vote adds these requirements to the state Constitution. A no vote keeps signature-based identity checks.
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