Is Voter ID Coming to California?
A bill that has been sitting in congress for months could bring major changes to state elections.
Since his inauguration, President Trump has made numerous statements about California elections in his public speeches.
Speaking to the press during his stop in North Carolina, Trump expressed his wishes for California. “I want voter ID for the people of California, and they all want it. Right now, you have no — you don’t have voter ID. People want to have voter identification. You want to have proof of citizenship. Ideally, you have one-day voting, but I just want voter ID as a start.”
Later, at the Hurricane Helene Briefing, he reiterated, “In California, we want them to have voter ID so the people have a voice, because right now, the people don’t have a voice because you don’t know who’s voting and it’s very corrupt.”
These statements were not the first time Trump brought up his views on the need for voter ID in California. Just hours after his inauguration, while speaking to the overflow crowd in Emancipation Hall (see below), Trump bemoaned the recently-passed California law that bans elections officials from asking voters for their ID. Then, turning to Mike Johnson, Speaker of the House, he said, “I’m gonna ask the Speaker to really get involved, because I think we would have won the state of California . . .”
When addressing Speaker Johnson in his comment, was President Trump referring to bringing the American Confidence in Elections Act (ACE Act) to the floor for a vote? Since being introduced in the House in July 2023, the bill has been making its way through committees and gaining modest support among Republican lawmakers, co-sponsored by six of California’s Republican congress members but lacking support from Congressman Kevin Kiley.
On January 3, 2025, the bill was dismissed from all committees and placed on the Union Calendar. According to a January 27 conversation with a staffer at the Legislative Resource Center, once a bill is discharged from committees, and especially if it has been placed on the Union calendar, it “looks like there is going to be a vote on it soon”, although there is no current information about the exact date for a floor vote for this bill.
The staffer further shared that the “Union calendar is a summary of legislation that has been passed and is coming up for a vote on the floor soon”.
The bill provides for sweeping election reforms and addresses pivotal issues such as outlawing non-citizens from voting in federal elections, voter roll maintenance, banning involvement of Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) in elections, and protecting political speech and association. It also decisively terminates the Disinformation Governance Board of the Department of Homeland Security.
A Look at the ACE Act - Some Highlights
Voter ID
In order to implement the recommendation of the Carter-Baker Commission on federal election reform, which recommends that to “ensure that persons presenting themselves at the polling place are the ones on the registration list”, the bill amends the REAL ID Act of 2005 to include an indication of citizenship on a person’s REAL ID. In other words, if a person is a citizen, their status will be confirmed on their ID if used for voting purposes. Moreover, the photo ID, when used for voting purposes, should be made available at no cost to citizens who cannot afford it.
Vote By Mail Voting
Under the bill, voters must provide a form of identification when submitting an application for an absentee (vote-by-mail, or “VBM”) ballot. Moreover, in the case where an elections official mails a voter a ballot when the voter has not specifically applied for that VBM ballot and provided an ID, an “election official may not accept” a voted absentee ballot “unless the individual submits with the voted ballot a copy of an identification”.
Voter Roll Maintenance
The bill amends the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) to tighten state reporting requirements for voter registration records. Under the bill, state election officials must report on voter registrations which are inactive, including details about the length of time the registration was inactive, when the voter last voted in a general election, and when the voter received a notice of inactivity and the voter’s responses to such notice, if any.
The bill requires that federal entities provide “information which is relevant to the status of an individual as a registered voter” to state elections officials upon request. Moreover, district courts that recuse a person from serving on jury due to noncitizenship must notify the Secretary of State and the US Attorney General of this recusal.
Transparency of Election Records
This section would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1960 to increase public access to election records. It would require that electronic election records such as scanned images of ballot envelopes, ballot images, and cast vote records be “considered public records available for reasonable public inspection.” Recently, in California, the Secretary of State and legislature have limited access to these same records via regulations and statutes.
Post Election Audits
For counties using federal funds tied to the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) to perform post-election audits, the bill would create a degree of separation between an auditor and an employee of the elections office. In other words, an employee of the elections office cannot participate in conducting the audit.
Certification of Electronic Pollbooks
Electronic pollbooks are considered “nonvoting technology”, as they are not connected to the voting system. Currently, federal law does not provide a certification process or guidelines for their use. This bill would amend the HAVA law to include voluntary guidelines for states to follow in certifying this and other “nonvoting technology” often used by elections officials to conduct elections. (A “voting system” is what people generally refer to as the “voting machines” that are used to cast and tally ballots.)
Ending Nongovernmental Organizations (NGO) Funding of Election Administration
A section entitled the “End Zuckerbucks Act of 2023”, prohibits 501(c)(3) organizations from funding election administration in any way.
Ending NGO Funding of Voter Registration Activities
The bill would prevent federal funds from being used to contract with NGOs to conduct any voter registration activities.
Ballot Harvesting
The section “No Federal Funds for Ballot Harvesting Act” prevents states that allow ballot harvesting from using federal funds for election administration. This Means that in California, where ballot harvesting is legal, counties would not receive federal funding for elections.
Third Party Handling of Ballots
In order to receive federal funding for elections, states must have in effect a law prohibiting third parties from handling ballots. Allowable third parties would still be election workers, family members or caregivers, postal workers or other commercial mail carriers. This section would ensure that other third parties such as NGOs or ballot harvesting operations cannot legally collect or transmit ballots.
Non-citizen Voting
The bill’s section “Non-Citizens: Outlawed from Voting in Our Trusted Elections Act of 2023” recognizes that the Constitution prevents non-citizens from voting in federal elections and prohibits ineligible voters from being placed on voter rolls. States that allow non-citizens to vote in local elections will face a 30% reduction in federal funds. Non-citizens who do vote in any election will face fines or imprisonment.
Do Non-citizens Vote in California?
According to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber as stated in an FAQ section about voter registration, the threat of penalty of perjury is sufficient to prevent any non-citizen from registering to vote:
How will the DMV system ensure only U.S. Citizens are registered to vote?
State law prohibits DMV from sending information for AB 60 applicants (undocumented driver license applicants) to the Secretary of State. For other applicants, state law requires each person to declare, under penalty of perjury, that they meet all voter eligibility requirements, including citizenship.
The California SoS, the chief elections officer of the state, does not actively screen or remove non-citizens from the voter rolls. Instead, she relies on a check-box honor system that she believes is sufficient to prevent any ineligible registrations from occurring in the first place.
As highlighted by Weber in her FAQ, the DMV is prohibited from sharing information on undocumented driver license applicants to the Secretary of State, information which would be a useful way for her to cross-reference her voter rolls with those of known non-citizens who possess AB 60 driver licenses.
This data blindness is in contrast with the Kansas SoS, who has joined state lawmakers in supporting legislation aimed at utilizing DMV records in an effort to identify and remove non-citizens from Kansas voter rolls. Bryan Caskey, the Kansas deputy secretary of state and director of elections stated that DMV records are “one of the rare pieces of factual, direct evidence of non-U.S. citizens” and that “it’s, quite frankly, one of the best tools that we have to verify non-U.S. citizens being on our voter registration list.”
Is Voter ID Constitutional?
The ACE Act includes a list of “Findings” which detail how the Constitution supports a voter ID law. The bill’s authors emphasize that the use of Photo ID for voting “should be administered without unlawful discrimination and with an eye toward balancing appropriate access to the ballot box with election integrity and voter confidence goals.”
California’s Voter ID Law is Superseded by Federal Law
Governor Newsom recently signed into law SB 1174, which prevents election officials from asking to see a voter’s ID. This bill amended the Elections Code to include section 10005, which states, in part:
A local government shall not enact or enforce any charter provision, ordinance, or regulation requiring a person to present identification for the purpose of voting or submitting a ballot at any polling place, vote center, or other location where ballots are cast or submitted, unless required by state or federal law.
The language in the statute, “unless required by state or federal law” points to the Supremacy Clause, which provides that federal law takes precedence over state laws. According to an interpretation of the Elections Clause provided by the National Constitution Center, “Congress may pass federal laws regulating congressional elections that automatically displace (“preempt”) any contrary state statutes.”
Recently, the State of California lost a challenge to a local voter ID law in the City of Huntington Beach, with the judge dismissing the case and allowing the City to proceed with the measure.
Moreover, Voter ID laws have been upheld in states such as Missouri, New Hampshire, and Ohio.