The Rev Dr. Rick SchlosserCalifornia Church IMPACT recommends a NO vote
Did you sign the petition for this initiative? Did you have to show federally qualified ID to do it? No — because signature-gathering is already scrutinized for legal residence and the right to participate in our elections. Voting works exactly the same way.
This proposition is essentially an end-run around the failed federal SAVE (Safeguard Voter Eligibility) Act. Like that bill, it would require new state and federal identification, shown at the polls or entered as the last four digits on mailed or dropped-off ballot envelopes.
For forty years, conservative think tanks like the Heritage Foundation have searched for evidence of ineligible voters. The number found — out of billions of votes cast — is fewer than 100. And the widely cited “dog that voted in Orange County” case doesn’t show a system failure: the woman who registered and voted using her dog’s name was arrested as soon as it was discovered. The system worked as designed.
Opponents argue this measure would function as a de facto poll tax — burdening low-income voters, people with disabilities, the elderly and infirm, and others who face barriers to obtaining new ID, while disproportionately affecting voters of color, new citizens, and others likely to oppose the measure’s backers.
Critics conclude there’s no evidence of meaningful voter fraud, and no reason to impose new barriers, costs, or hardships on eligible voters — calling Prop. 39 an attempt at voter suppression rather than a fraud-prevention measure. There is no voter fraud.
Recommend a NO vote