California measure requiring photo ID at polls will be on November ballot

California voters will decide in November whether to require photo identification to cast a ballot, making California the latest battleground in a long-running effort by conservatives to push voter ID laws that have been bolstered in recent years by Donald Trump ’s repeated and unfounded accusations of widespread voter fraud. Nearly 1 million Californians signed on to support the ballot measure championed by Carl DeMaio, a Republican state representative from San Diego. “Voters will be able to restore election integrity in our state, citizenship verification, auditing voter rolls – and yes, requiring ID to vote,” DeMaio said in a video statement posted to X. Democrats have historically opposed voter ID laws, viewing them as unnecessary obstacles to casting a ballot that are likely to disproportionately affect voters who are low-income and people of color. If the ballot measure passes, California voters would be required to present a photo identification when voting at a polling place, or submit a four-digit pin when sending a mail-in ballot. Efforts to impose voter ID in solidly blue California have failed in the past. A poll released last month by the Institute of Governmental Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, however, found voters deadlocked on the issue, with 44% supporting it, 45% opposing and the rest undecided. …