Proposed initiative would mandate government-issued identification To vote, Social Security Number to register
California Secretary of State Dr. Shirley N. Weber announced that the proponent of a new initiative was cleared to begin collecting petition signatures Nov. 19, 2021.
The attorney general prepares the legal title and summary that is required to appear on initiative petitions. When the official language is complete, the attorney general forwards it to the proponent and to the secretary of state, and the initiative may be circulated for signatures. The secretary of state then provides a calendar of deadlines to the proponent and to county elections officials.
The attorney general’s official title and summary for the measure is as follows:
MANDATES GOVERNMENT-ISSUED IDENTIFICATION TO VOTE AND SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER TO REGISTER. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. Changes existing voter laws by requiring: (1) in-person voters to present a government-issued identification card; (2) mail-in voters to provide a government-issued identification card number and signature matching their voter file; and (3) all voters to provide a full Social Security number when they register to vote and to verify existing registrations. Amends Constitution to require, consistent with existing state and federal laws, that counties maintain accurate voter registration lists. Requires counties to report in-person voting wait times after each election. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: One-time state and local government costs in the millions of dollars to update voter registrations. Increased annual state and local government costs, potentially in the tens of millions of dollars, to administer elections. (21-0021.)
The Secretary of State’s tracking number for this measure is 1915 and the Attorney General’s tracking number is 21-0021.
The proponent of the measure, Carl DeMaio, must collect signatures of 997,139 registered voters (eight percent of the total votes cast for governor in the November 2018 general election) in order for the measure to become eligible for the ballot. The proponent has 180 days to circulate petitions for the measure, meaning the signatures must be submitted to county elections officials no later than May 18, 2022. The address for the proponent is P.O. Box 27227, San Diego, CA 92198. The proponent can be reached at (619) 786-8019 or carl@carldemaio.com.
