Media Monitor: L.A. Times Columnist Urges Rejection of California Voter ID Measure

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that its Capitol Journal columnist, George Skelton, is urging Californians to reject Proposition 39, a ballot measure that would require voters to show government-issued identification before casting a ballot.

Skelton said the measure would make California's already slow vote count even slower, add hassle for citizens exercising their voting right, and cost taxpayers perhaps hundreds of millions of dollars each year. He said it is another solution by politicians to a problem that does not exist, noting there is no evidence of widespread voter cheating in California or anywhere else in America.

The columnist said the main reason Republicans placed Proposition 39 on the ballot was to boost GOP turnout in the Nov. 3 election. He said recent independent polling shows the measure appeals strongly to Republicans but not to Democrats, who are united in opposition, and that it appears headed for defeat largely because Democratic voters in the deep blue state equate it with President Trump. He said the campaign last week released a new TV ad essentially asking voters to ignore the president.

Under the measure, voters would show identification each time they vote in person, such as a driver's license or passport, and the state would issue a free ID card to any voter who asked. Californians casting mail ballots, more than 80% of voters, would write the last four digits of a government ID number on the return envelope. The measure also would require election officials to maintain accurate voter registration files, removing people who have moved or died and verifying citizenship.

Skelton said counties already do that work well. He said Californians currently must provide identification when registering and swear under penalty of perjury that they are U.S. citizens, and must record signatures when registering and sign the back of mail ballot envelopes. He said adding a four-digit number would force him to register again and remember the number every election, calling it a pointless pain.

Assemblyman Carl DeMaio, a Republican from San Diego, instigated and authored the measure. He told the newspaper he believes voter fraud is a real problem and said the proposition aims to clean up voter files, ensure ballots are properly validated and counted, and increase public confidence in elections. He said voters have low trust in the election system.