California's Proposition 39, a ballot measure requiring voters to present government-issued identification at the polls or provide the last four digits of an ID number when voting by mail, has become the subject of controversy following a revision to its ballot description by Attorney General Rob Bonta. Supporters of the measure accuse Bonta of intentionally altering the language to negatively portray the proposal and manipulate voters, effectively attempting to "rig" the election.
Bonta's office is responsible for crafting the title and summary of ballot measures. While the initial description for Proposition 39, prepared in September of the previous year before signature gathering, stated it "establishes additional voter identification and citizenship verification requirements," the updated version released in the voter information guide presents a significantly different framing. The revised description states the measure "prohibits citizens from voting unless they present government-issued identification."
Republican Assemblyman David Tangipa, among the first to notice the changes, described the situation as "blatant manipulation and rigging right in the middle of the election season." Carl DeMaio, chief backer of Proposition 39, echoed these sentiments, asserting that politicians are attempting to "corruptly try to rig the election by putting a biased and dishonest title on this common-sense measure" because a majority of Californians support voter ID.
Supporters also point to the omission of a clause requiring the state to provide voter ID cards upon request in the new summary. The revised language additionally warns that the measure can "prohibit" voting and "invalidate" mail ballots without proper identification, a more negative framing than the original summary that simply listed ID as a requirement.
Representative James Gallagher (R-Yuba City) criticized the Attorney General's actions, stating that after failing to prevent Proposition 39 from reaching the ballot with over 962,000 signatures, "he changes the ballot title to manipulate how voters see voter ID, sabotaging it before Californians ever get a fair vote."
In response to inquiries, the Attorney General's office referred to a state law stating that "the ballot title and summary may differ from the legislative, circulating, or other title and summary of the measure." The office also noted that changes to ballot titles and summaries are not uncommon for voter-proposed initiatives, with all nine measures this year seeing alterations. They maintain that their office "properly exercised its discretion to provide further clarity to voters about Prop 39’s chief purpose and points for the ballot stage."
This is not the first time the Attorney General's role in ballot measure descriptions has drawn scrutiny. Former Attorney General Xavier Becerra faced similar accusations of unfairly describing ballot measures during his tenure. Efforts by State Senator Roger Niello (R-Fair Oaks) to shift the authority for writing ballot descriptions from the Attorney General to the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office have previously been opposed by labor unions and the Democratic-controlled Legislature, who argue the current system is better as the Attorney General is democratically elected and possesses the necessary experience and resources. Opponents of this change, however, contend that a partisan office is inherently vulnerable to politicization, potentially leading to misleading or confusing language that erodes public trust in the electoral system.