California Voter Identification and Voter List Maintenance Requirements Initiative (2026)
| California Voter Identification and Voter List Maintenance Requirements Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 3, 2026 | |
| Topic Voter ID policy and Citizenship voting requirements | |
| Status Cleared for signature gathering | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin Citizens |
The California Voter Identification and Voter List Maintenance Requirements Initiative (#25-0007) may appear on the ballot in California as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 3, 2026.
The initiative would require government-issued identification to vote in person or last four-digits of a unique government-issued identifying number with mail-in ballot. The initiative would also require the secretary of state and county election officials to maintain accurate voter registration lists, including verifying citizenship attestations and reporting what percent of voter rolls have been citizenship-verified.[1]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title is as follows:[2]
| “ | Establishes additional voter identification and citizenship verification requirements. Initiative constitutional amendment.[3] | ” |
Petition summary
The summary provided for inclusion on signature petition sheets is as follows:[2]
| “ | Under current law, when registering to vote, individuals must state under penalty of perjury that they are United States citizens and provide information to verify their identity (e.g., birthdate, driver’s license or Social Security number). This measure would amend the California Constitution to further require that:
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” |
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article II, California Constitution
The ballot measure would add a Section 3.1 to Article II of the California Constitution. The following underlined text would be added:[4]
Note: Hover over the text and scroll to see the full text.
(a) The Secretary of State, and county elections officials, shall each have the duty to maintain accurate voter registration lists, shall use best efforts to verify citizenship attestations using government data, and shall annually report what percentage of each county’s voter rolls have been citizenship-verified.
(b) Each time a voter casts a ballot in person in any election in the State, the voter shall present government-issued identification, or if voting by mail, the voter shall provide the last four digits of a unique identifying number from government-issued identification that matches the one designated by the voter for their voter registration. The type of identification designated by each voter must be indicated in their voter registration record, noted on the mail ballot envelope provided to them, and available to them on request by phone or electronically. Election officials shall only count a regular or provisional ballot after verifying the identity of the person voting pursuant to the requirements of this section, and verifying that the person has cast only one ballot in the election. Government-issued identification means documentation that allows conclusive verification of the voter’s identity. Upon request by an eligible voter, the state shall provide, at no charge, a voter ID card for use in casting a ballot.
(c) This section shall be self-executing. The Legislature shall also promptly enact laws to implement this section, provide for voting by military and overseas voters consistent with federal law, and ensure that all State and local officials comply and support the compliance with this section. Citizens may seek judicial review and remedy of the State’s or any county’s compliance with this section. During every odd-numbered year, the State Auditor shall audit the State’s and each county’s compliance with this section and report its findings and recommendations for improving the integrity of elections to the public.[3]
Full text
The full text of the initiative can be read here.
Sponsors
Reform California, led by State Asm. Carl DeMaio (R-75), is sponsoring the initiative.[5]
Path to the ballot
An initiated constitutional amendment is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that amends a state's constitution. Eighteen (18) states allow citizens to initiate constitutional amendments.
In California, the number of signatures required for an initiated constitutional amendment is equal to 8% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election. A simple majority vote is required for voter approval. The requirements to get initiated constitutional amendments certified for the 2026 ballot:
- Signatures: 874,641 valid signatures are required.
- Deadline: The deadline for signature verification is June 25, 2026. However, the secretary of state suggested deadlines for turning in signatures of January 12, 2026, for initiatives needing a full check of signatures and April 17, 2026, for initiatives needing a random sample of signatures verified.
Initiative #25-0007
- July 16, 2025: The initiative was filed by State Rep. Carl DeMaio (R) and State Sen. Tony Strickland (R).[6]
- September 19, 2025: The initiative was cleared for signature gathering.[7]
- October 21, 2025: The secretary of state reported the committee had collected 25% of the required number of signatures.[7]
- Reform California, the campaign behind the initiative, announced that it had collected over 750,000 signatures.[8]
See also
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ California Attorney General, "Full text #25-0007," accessed July 17, 2025
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 California Secretary of State, "Initiatives and Referenda Cleared for Circulation," accessed January 24, 2025
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ California Attorney General, "Initiative 25-0007A1," August 8, 2025
- ↑ Reform California, "Home," accessed December 8, 2025
- ↑ California Attorney General, "Initiatives Pending Review," accessed November 26, 2024
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedSoS - ↑ Reform California, "CA Voter ID Petition Reaches 750k Signatures - Dec 31 Set as Deadline," December 4, 2025
