Californians are expected to be asked on the Nov. 3 ballot whether or not they want voter ID to be required in future elections.

A coalition called Californians for Voter ID has gathered more than 1.3 million signatures in a proposed statewide ballot initiative calling for voter ID. At a March 2 press conference, California Republican leaders and volunteers delivered more than a dozen boxes of signed petitions at the Riverside County Registrar of Voters in Riverside, California.

The number of signatures, collected over five months in all 58 Californian counties, far exceeds the 874,761 signatures required to make the November ballot, organizers said. So now, the formal signature validation process required to qualify for the ballot is expected to begin.

Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) told reporters that delivering the petitions was an important milestone for the voter ID initiative and an “important day for democracy” in California.

“When Californians lose confidence in the integrity of our elections, we’re at risk of losing faith in the foundation that upholds the system of government. Anytime a ballot is cast by someone who is ineligible to vote, it cancels out the vote of an eligible citizen—silences their vote,” Calvert said.

It doesn’t take many fraudulent votes to upset the balance of power in Congress, he said, pointing out that, in the 2024 election, former Congressman John Duarte lost by just 187 votes and that Michelle Steel lost her congressional seat by just 653.

“Voter ID has broad support—not just from Republicans—across the political spectrum,” Calvert said. “It’s a common-sense way to secure the election. This is something that already takes place in some fashion in 36 states. Americans use their ID in every part of their lives, every single day. This is not a radical idea. ... We want to strengthen the integrity of our election process.”

State Sen. Tony Strickland told reporters that “a dog has voted in the last couple elections in Orange County.”

“And, you know, our democracy doesn’t work if people don’t have faith in election outcomes,” he said.

In September 2025, a 62-year-old resident of Costa Mesa, California, was charged with five felonies for allegedly registering her dog to vote.

Strickland said that, according to internal campaign polling, 68 percent of voters approve of voter ID, which, in California, means that an “overwhelming number of Democrats, independents, and Republicans” must support voter integrity laws.

“People have a thirst” for election integrity, he said, claiming that the argument that voter ID will lower voter participation is “absolutely not true.”

“The only people that don’t support voter integrity are insiders up in Sacramento. But when we give the voters a choice this November, I have no doubt that the people of California will vote [for] voter integrity and voter ID law, and that we will get this passed,” he said. “This will be a game-changer in California.”

Voter ID is an essential safeguard for the future of democracy, he said.

Tafa Jefferson, an organizer behind the initiative, cited a University of California–San Diego survey that shows a 17 percent drop in voter confidence, with people increasingly fearing “that their voice will not be counted.”

“This issue resonates with California,” he said.

“We collected signatures from all 58 counties—every congressional district, every legislative district, every party affiliation, including independents, moderates, liberals, and conservatives, senior citizens and young people, union members, business owners, law enforcement, fire, teachers, nurses, and caregivers. No stone was unturned. Support for voter ID crosses geographic, political, and demographic lines.”

Jefferson said he’s looking forward to November, when California’s voters can make their voices heard.

“We are confident that when Californians look at the facts, they will stand with us in supporting fair, secure, transparent elections,” he said.

State Assemblyman Carl DeMaio, a Republican, said that voter ID is common sense.

“If you need an ID to board an airplane or buy a pack of cigarettes or get ... a case of beer, you should make it pretty easy to use an ID to vote in an election. This is not hard. It’s not rocket science. It’s quite simple,” he said. “But the politicians in Sacramento don’t want to do even the most simple common-sense reforms to restore public trust and confidence in our elections.”

In a time when people have given up hope that their government is going to be responsive to them and that even participating in voting matters, “this initiative is the turning point,” according to DeMaio.

“This initiative is where the people rise up and say that we want a better government. We want trust and confidence back in our elections,” he said.

State Assemblyman Carl DeMaio (L) and Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) carry boxes of signed petitions to the Riverside County Registrar of Voters office in Riverside, Calif., on March 2, 2026. (Brad Jones/The Epoch Times)

Cynthia Valencio, a senior policy advocate and organizer with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Southern California, told The Epoch Times at the Register of Voters on March 2 that requiring voter ID is unnecessary because California already has a robust voter verification process.

“We are in opposition of this ballot measure because it will create additional barriers for eligible California voters,” Valencio said. “This is voter suppression.”

Jenny Farrell, executive director of the League of Women Voters in California, also told The Epoch Times that if California voters approve the initiative, it will “erect new barriers” and prevent eligible Californians from making their voices heard and exercising their fundamental right to vote.

“I’m here with my coalition partners today from the ACLU and Common Cause, raising our concerns about this ballot initiative,” Farrell said.

“There is zero evidence of widespread voter impersonation and fraud in the United States. In fact, you’re more likely to be struck by lightning than you are to cast a ballot illegally in the United States.”

Farrell also criticized requiring voter ID as “voter suppression.”

“First of all, in California, 80 percent of us vote by mail, and you are now going to have an additional field on that vote-by-mail ballot where you have to write the last four digits of your social security number on the outside of the ballot along with your signature,” she said. “That poses huge privacy risks and risks of ID fraud for all voters.”

And secondly, not everyone has an ID that matches what’s in the voter rolls, according to Farrell.

“So folks who have moved a lot, folks who have changed their name for whatever reason; all of these are folks who may get their ballot flagged and ultimately rejected when they are absolutely legal American citizens just trying to exercise their right to vote,” she said.

News media was not permitted to enter the county offices as Calvert, DeMaio, and volunteers submitted the petitions to the county clerk.