California Voter ID Initiative Qualifies for 2026 Ballot

California's Secretary of State announced Friday that a ballot initiative requiring voter identification and citizenship verification has qualified for the November 3, 2026, general election ballot. The measure, backed by a coalition including Reform California and state lawmakers, gathered more than 962,000 valid signatures, surpassing the required 874,641 threshold.

The initiative aims to amend the state constitution to mandate proof of U.S. citizenship during voter registration, using government records such as those from the Social Security Administration database. At polling places, voters would need to present government-issued photo identification, such as a driver's license, each time they cast a ballot in person. For the state's popular mail-in voting system, which most residents use, ballots would require the last four digits of a government-issued ID number, like a Social Security number or driver's license, or a four-digit PIN generated during registration. Election officials would also be obligated to verify citizenship status and maintain up-to-date voter rolls.

Proponents, led by Assemblymember Carl DeMaio of San Diego and state Senator Tony Strickland of...