A ballot measure in California that would implement voter identification requirements at polling places has become the focus of substantial financial backing from prominent donors across the country. Proposition 39 would require voters to present identification documents before casting ballots and mandate that mail-in ballots include the last four digits of a government-issued ID number on envelopes.
The yes campaign has raised more than $36 million in support of the measure, according to reporting from CalMatters. Major contributors include Richard Uihlein, a conservative donor and shipping supply company owner who has given $17 million, and Joe Gebbia, co-founder of Airbnb and a Trump administration official, who has contributed $8 million. Additional significant donations have come from Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss and Nicole Shanahan. The yes campaign has significantly outraised the opposition by approximately $13 million.
Republican legislator Carl DeMaio authored the proposition following unsuccessful attempts to advance voter ID legislation through California’s Democratic-controlled state legislature. DeMaio has characterized the measure as a balanced approach tailored to California that would maintain mail-in voting while implementing citizenship verification requirements. He has suggested the initiative could represent a positive outcome for Republicans in an election cycle where the party expects substantial losses.
Opposition to the measure comes from the state Democratic party, the ACLU, and the League of Women Voters. Some supporters have argued the proposition enjoys bipartisan backing. Polling data on the measure has been mixed, with a UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies survey showing the proposition trailing by 13 points, while other polls from late September indicated it held a lead. A bilingual survey of Latino likely voters conducted earlier showed this demographic evenly divided on the proposition.
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