Prop 39 details ‘voter ID’ in California

IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA) - California voters will soon decide whether to require voter ID at the polls.

Proposition 39 would require voters casting a ballot to show a government-issued ID. It would also add ID number requirements for mail-in ballots.

Supporters of the measure say that it will help protect election integrity.

"One of the flaws in our system right now is you have to sign your envelope, right?" California GOP Secretary Sayrs Morris told Newsl 11. "This would provide a four-digit code, which is a lot easier to verify than a signature you signed maybe 25 years ago."

Morris said if anyone needs help getting a government-issued ID, "The government will provide you one for free."

The measure would also require the government to audit voter rolls every two years.

For people worried about the name on their ID not matching their birth certificate, Morris clarified, stating, "Prop 39 is very different than Donald Trump's SAVE Act. So it can be any government ID that you already have. So if you have a driver's license, you can use your four-digit pin from that."

Francis Beope from Democrats United Imperial Valley, an opponent of the measure, said there are already safeguards in place to stop voter fraud.

"Study after study has shown, not only in California, but nation-wide, that voter fraud does not exist in any significant numbers. Here in California, all absentee ballots that come in are verified, signature for signature to make sure that the person who casts their ballot is the person who the ballot belongs to," Beope told Channel 11 in an interview.

"When a problem does not exist, it's basically trying to create distrust," Beope explained.

Last week, the federal government filed a lawsuit against the state of California, concerning "likely noncitizens" on California's voter rolls.