They're fighting over voter ID again

Dec 17, 2024

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Voters work on their ballots at voting booths.

California in January will enact a law barring local governments from requiring voters to show ID at polling places. | Chris Pizzello/AP Photo

BALLOT BATTLE: California is preparing to enact a new law to prevent cities from crafting their own voter identification laws. And that could once again place the state in the crosshairs of the new Trump administration, just as he takes over.

Now-Rep. Dave Min authored the bill, which takes effect Jan. 1, in response to a Huntington Beach ballot measure requiring voters to show ID at the polls. Currently, Californians are required to have their IDs verified when they register to vote, but they don’t need to present them when they go to the polls.

Attorney General Rob Bonta and Secretary of State Shirley Weber filed a legal challenge against the local measure that’s still ongoing. Meanwhile, Huntington Beach officials insist the community’s charter city status means the new state law won’t apply to them.

Donald Trump has repeatedly railed against Min’s bill, criticizing Gov. Gavin Newsom for signing it during a Bloomberg interview in October, saying, “Of course you have to show voter ID. The only reason you wouldn’t do [it] is because they want to cheat.”

He referenced the bill again in an early November Truth Social post coming after “Newscum.”

“As an ‘AGENT’ for the United States of America on Voting & Elections, I will be DEMANDING THAT VOTER I.D., AND PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP, ARE A NECESSARY PART AND COMPONENT OF THE VOTING PROCESS!” Trump wrote.

Kim Alexander of the California Voter Foundation said she’s curious to see how this tension between state and federal election oversight plays out.

There’s usually an intense focus on voting systems directly after an election, Alexander said.

The federal government has previously been moved to act in response to problems with voter registration, ballot-counting or election systems, she said. For example, Congress passed laws in the 1980s requiring states to provide absentee ballots for overseas members of the military and to make polling places accessible for elderly and disabled Americans. Lawmakers also passed legislation in 1993 requiring states to allow voters to register at departments of motor vehicles.

Following the troubled ballot-counting efforts of the 2000 election, a 2002 law laid out new voting system requirements and support for states to implement them.

“I will be interested to see how that tug of war takes shape between what the federal political leaders want to see happen, versus what they're capable of affecting,” she said.

Voter ID laws aside, Alexander would like to see efforts to accelerate California’s vote-counting process, as “it does a disservice to voters when they are denied the ability to know who's going to represent them or lead them.”

Assemblymember Gail Pellerin — a former Santa Cruz County elections official who has chaired the Assembly Elections Committee — previously authored a 2023 bill requiring local governments to use machines to count ballots. She’s now supporting early-stage legislation from Assemblymember Marc Berman to speed up California vote-counting, though he’s still in the process of determining exactly how to help counties pick up their pace.

A different Pellerin bill taking effect in January will prevent candidates from filing to run for two different offices simultaneously, in response to now-Rep. Vince Fong ending up on the ballot for both the House and the state Assembly.

And she’s continuing her push to add the state to the Electronic Registration Information Center, an organization made up of state elections officials that help maintain accurate voter rolls. (A bill Pellerin authored to make this happen died in the Senate Appropriations Committee this year.)

When asked if she’s concerned about Trump’s rhetoric, the assemblymember said, “every day there's something new that comes out of the new administration's positions and ideas.” But she maintains the state’s system is secure and effective.

“California has really good laws that are in place to prevent voter fraud and really outstanding laws to ensure that all voters have excessive access to voting,” she said.

IT’S TUESDAY AFTERNOON. This is California Playbook PM, a POLITICO newsletter that serves as an afternoon temperature check on California politics and a look at what our policy reporters are watching. Got tips or suggestions? Shoot an email to lholden@politico.com.

A message from Food & Water Action:

Will Gov. Newsom side with the oil and gas industry or Californians after the “worst gas leak in US history?" In 2015, the Aliso Canyon Gas Storage Facility released 100,000 tons of methane and toxic chemicals, endangering public health. Governor Newsom vowed to shut down Aliso Canyon, but his Public Utilities Commission appointees voted to expand it. The PUC will decide Aliso Canyon’s future on December 19th. Learn more.

CA vs. TRUMP

Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel, chair of the Assembly Budget committee, smiles as a measure to reduce the state deficit is approved the Assembly.

Jesse Gabriel is urging Assembly Democrats to avoid deviating from Gov. Gavin Newsom's narrow plan to allocate $25 million for the state Department of Justice through a special legislative session. | Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo

RECESS NEGOTIATIONS: The Legislature may be on recess until Jan. 6, but that doesn’t mean lawmakers and interest groups aren’t engaging in some special session wheeling and dealing.

Playbook obtained a Dec. 12 letter from Assembly Budget Chair Jesse Gabriel, saying Assembly Democrats would be scheduling time this week to “meet as a caucus to discuss the special session proposals.”

“We will also have time to discuss budget issues more broadly as part of our Assembly Democratic Caucus Retreat in mid-January,” the letter said.

Gabriel reiterated his prior message that the Legislature “can only consider proposals consistent with the Governor’s special session proclamation as part of the special session.”

“We understand that there are likely to be many other budget and policy proposals related to the incoming Federal Administration, but these will be heard in the regular session,” he wrote. “If it is necessary to expedite any of these regular session proposals, the Assembly will address them on a case-by-case basis.”

As we’ve previously reported, Senate Budget Chair Scott Wiener and his house support a wider-ranging $60 million plan that would provide additional funding for local governments and immigration rights organizations. Gabriel is more on board with Newsom’s plan to allocate $25 million to help the state Department of Justice prepare for possible Trump litigation.

Immigration advocates are not giving up on their push for additional cash for legal aid, detention representation and other initiatives. They sent a letter to Gabriel, Newsom and other legislative leaders on Dec. 13, also obtained by Playbook.

“Without proactive state-level protections, thousands of Californians will face detention and deportation without representation, exacerbating family separations, economic disruptions, and community instability,” the letter said. “Emergency funding and coordination are essential to ensure that legal resources reach those in urgent need.”

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ON THE BEATS

Jerry Brown motions with his hands while sitting and talking.

Former Gov. Jerry Brown expressed concerns about how some California cities are enacting "sanctuary city" policies to protect immigrants. | Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo

SANCTUARY SCRUTINY: Former Gov. Jerry Brown is continuing his California media blitz, telling Alex Bell on ABC10’s “To the Point” that “some of the cities, like San Francisco, have gone way, way beyond” California’s “sanctuary state” law in an effort to “create a wall, almost a separation of state and federal government.”

When asked whether California’s federal funding should be revoked over SB 54 — a law he signed in 2017 to limit state law enforcement cooperation with immigration officials — Brown answered: “I think that is going to prove difficult.”

Brown said SB 54 contained exceptions for those convicted of serious crimes, “so it was a matter of having state officials handle state-level matters and not try to play like they do in Texas, that they’re federal officials.”

The former governor eventually said California shouldn’t have its funding stripped, saying, “we're not handing people over to the federal government. But the federal government can certainly show up wherever they want to show up, and if someone is not here legally, they may be subject to deportation."

San Francisco has had some form of sanctuary city policy on its books since 1989, according to the city website. It was last amended in July 2016, and it specifies that city employees cannot use city resources to assist with Immigration and Customs Enforcement or hold people on a civil immigration detainer, among other provisions.

Other cities, including Los Angeles, have also been beefing up their sanctuary policies following Trump’s election.

A message from Food & Water Action:

KEEP INSURED: Despite whatever is happening in D.C., the state’s new HHS secretary is laser-focused on getting all Californians insured, even though that means reaching undocumented immigrants as Trump vows to crack down on illegal immigration.

In her first interview since taking office, Kim Johnson told POLITICO she is still directing her agency to reach out to DACA recipients and highlighting subsidy programs that keep down the cost of insurance on Covered California, even as some fear both of those efforts could be at risk under Trump.

“Our strategy is to do outreach and really make progress in all communities, … for example those with DACA status, [that are] newly eligible, to reach them and get them connected,” Johnson said, using the acronym for the program for undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children.

POLITICO Pro subscribers can read more here from the interview about Johnson’s plans. — Rachel Bluth

A message from Food & Water Action:

Will Gov. Newsom side with the oil and gas industry or Californians after the “worst gas leak in US history?" In 2015, the Aliso Canyon Gas Storage Facility released 100,000 tons of methane and toxic chemicals. SoCalGas’ disaster forced thousands to evacuate their homes to avoid further exposure to cancer-causing benzene and other chemicals.

SoCalGas took four months to seal the gas leak. Families near Aliso are still suffering the consequences. Instead of shutting it down like Gov. Newsom promised, the PUC allowed Aliso to expand by 3,000%, perpetuating the public health threat.

Over 150 organizations have come together to call for a shutdown of Aliso by 2027, but the PUC is considering kicking the can down the road instead of protecting communities. Gov. Newsom and allies should stand with families, not SoCalGas’ profits. On December 19th, the PUC will decide the future of Aliso Canyon. Learn more.

WHAT WE'RE READING TODAY

— Trump’s former surgeon general says the recent killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO “signals a profound loss of confidence in structures that are meant to support and protect the public.” (POLITICO)

— A culture of silence among state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officers at California State Prison near Sacramento allegedly led to the abuse of incarcerated people, officer-on-officer harassment and at least two homicides. (KQED)

— A San Francisco jury found a Bay Area tech consultant guilty of second-degree murder in the death of CashApp founder Bob Lee. (San Francisco Chronicle)

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AROUND THE STATE

— A death row inmate convicted of sexually assaulting a UC Davis student before killing her along with her boyfriend died in prison. (Sacramento Bee)

— Walt Disney Co. has agreed to settle a wage theft lawsuit with Anaheim theme park employees for $233 million. (Orange County Register)

— Los Angeles County is suing the owner of Chiquita Canyon Landfill near Santa Clarita over a chemical reaction that’s burning garbage. (Los Angeles Times)

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