Will Californians get to vote on voter ID?

President Trump recently made headlines when he said he would like to see California enact a voter ID requirement. There are three ways that a voter ID requirement could be instituted in California in the near term: a new federal law, a new state law, and a ballot measure. The first is out of our control and the second is never going to happen.

But a ballot measure would let the people of California decide. Voter ID is exactly the kind of issue that California's ballot initiative process was meant to address: A popular change in the law that the state's politicians refuse to adopt. Because the state and other interest groups will fight to stop a voter ID ballot measure, proponents of any such measure should be ready for a legal as well as a political battle.

As with other routine but important transactions, like flying or picking up a prescription from the pharmacy, voter ID proponents argue that citizens should similarly be required to show identification in order to cast a vote. Requiring voter ID is a popular idea that 35 states already practice. Opponents contend that there are citizens who wish to vote but lack identification and the means to obtain it, and this disproportionately impacts disadvantaged communities. Yet courts have upheld the legality of a voter ID requirement and states have adopted various means to minimize the burden it imposes, from permitting a variety of identification forms and methods, to post-election opportunities to cure a deficient identification.

The impact of a California voter ID law on current practices could vary greatly depending on the details. Currently, identification is required to register to vote but then ballots are mailed to all registered voters. Those ballots can be returned by mail, placed in a drop box, or delivered by another person ("ballot harvesting"). The chief method to confirm a ballot was cast by the voter to whom it was sent is to compare the signature on the ballot envelope to signatures in government records. However, counties' diligence in maintaining the accuracy of their voter rolls varies, risking ballots being sent to the wrong addresses or persons. The signature matching process is also tilted heavily against rejecting signatures and rejection standards and rates vary from county to county.

One way to bring voter ID to California would be for Congress to enact a law requiring ID to vote in all federal elections nationwide. The Constitution empowers Congress to regulate the time, place, and manner of federal elections. Congress could also try to condition federal aid on states adopting voter ID or other measures. But such legislation would not reach state and local elections unless they coincide with federal elections and it is not yet clear if Congress intends any such changes. The California legislature could also enact a state law to require voter ID, but the ruling supermajority in the state legislature is fundamentally opposed to voter ID, as is Gov. Newsom. In fact, despite the state constitution granting significant local autonomy to make election rules, a recently enacted state law prohibits local governments from implementing voter ID requirements.

However, California has a long history of citizens using direct democracy through ballot initiatives to overcome the resistance of entrenched political elites to the popular will. California citizens could put the issue to a vote in the November 2026 election. The details of a proposed measure would have to balance strictness against the flexibility voters have come to enjoy, while also being strict enough to attract voters eager to improve confidence in our elections.

Any such effort would have to act promptly because the process can take a year and a half to complete and the likely official resistance at every step of the way is virtually guaranteed to require litigation. State officials would certainly try to distort the description of the proposal that would be used on the signature petition and the ballot to sway voters against it, challenge the substance of the proposed new law, and rigorously police the many technical legal requirements that govern initiatives and their proponents. It will also require fundraising millions of dollars.

Voter ID is a popular and lawful aspect of American elections that has worked in dozens of states to boost voter confidence in U.S. elections. If there is a ballot initiative campaign to put the question before the voters, after it runs a gauntlet of regulation and litigation to overcome official resistance, Californians may ultimately get the chance to decide for themselves whether to adopt it here.