California Democrats are preparing a multimillion-dollar campaign to defeat a Republican-supported voter ID proposal, with gubernatorial frontrunner Xavier Becerra stepping into a leading role in the fight.
The newly formed committee, called “No on 39 – Block Trump’s Election Rigging,” will be fronted by Becerra and California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, who are serving as honorary co-chairs.
Backed by major Democratic-aligned groups including SEIU California and Planned Parenthood, the campaign represents the party’s most forceful effort so far to stop Proposition 39, a ballot measure that would impose new voting requirements in the state.
“Donald Trump’s election rigging has no place in California,” Becerra said in a statement.
“As attorney general, I took Trump to court — and won — when he tried to intimidate voters and suppress the vote. Prop. 39 is his playbook coming to California.”
Becerra’s emergence as a central figure opposing Trump’s influence on voter ID policy could also signal a broader political strategy.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has long been California’s most visible Democratic counterweight to Trump. But with Newsom widely viewed as eyeing a 2028 presidential run — he already controls two federal political action committees and a Super PAC — and Becerra focused on statewide ambitions in November, the political spotlight may be shifting for this fall’s election season.
A spokesperson for Newsom said the governor plans to release his endorsements for the November election next month.
The SAVE Act, backed by Trump and being debated in Congress, would require documentary proof of US citizenship to register to vote in federal elections, with supporters arguing it protects election integrity and critics warning it could make voting more difficult for eligible citizens.
Proposition 39 would require voters to present government-issued identification when voting in person or provide the last four digits of a driver’s license, Social Security number or another government-issued identification number when voting by mail.
It also would require the state to issue voter identification cards upon request, increase citizenship verification efforts and mandate additional election audits.
A UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll released this spring found 56% of likely voters initially supported the proposal after reading a neutral description, but support declined after respondents heard arguments from both supporters and opponents.
The opposition committee launched with more than $2 million but trails supporters of Proposition 39, who have raised more than $12 million. Politico was first to report on the new committee.
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Prop. 39, which is backed by Assemblymember Carl DeMaio (R-San Diego) and Reform California, qualified for the November ballot after supporters submitted enough signatures earlier this year. Democrats are explicitly tying the initiative to Trump as they seek to turn the election into a referendum on the president rather than a debate over voter ID.
The campaign’s rollout comes days after a separate fight erupted over Attorney General Rob Bonta’s rewritten ballot title and summary for Prop. 39. Supporters accused Bonta of bias after the official voter guide described the initiative as one that would “prohibit” citizens from voting without government-issued identification and “invalidate” mail ballots that fail to comply with identification requirements.
Earlier language while signatures were being gathered described the measure as establishing additional voter identification and citizenship verification requirements.
“California politicians know that a super-majority of California voters support Prop 39’s bipartisan solution for Voter ID – so now they are corruptly trying to rig the election by putting a biased and dishonest title on this common-sense measure,” DeMaio previously told The Post.
Bonta’s office rejected accusations that it was attempting to influence the election, saying state law allows ballot language to change before an election and noting that all nine citizen-backed initiatives on this year’s ballot received revisions to provide greater clarity for voters.
The opposition campaign is arguing that voter ID requirements would disproportionately burden minority voters and others who face barriers to obtaining government-issued identification.
“Donald Trump and his MAGA cronies like Carl Demaio want to make it harder for California citizens — especially communities of color — to exercise their right to vote,” Rivas said in a statement.
“Trump can’t handle the fact that he lost California by 20 points. He’s trying to rig the system and make it harder for you to exercise your constitutional rights.”
Jodi Hicks, CEO and president of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, accused “far-right MAGA activists” who have attempted to roll back women’s reproductive rights as the same people behind the voter ID initiative.
“They want to take away our fundamental freedoms — and that starts with denying Californians access to the ballot box,” Hicks said.
But the momentum may be turning on the issue of voter ID. Earlier this month, billionaire developer Rick Caruso broke with California’s Democratic establishment by putting $25,000 behind Prop. 39.
Last week, veteran Democratic strategist James Carville warned that Democrats have lost the public’s trust on voter fraud and should stop opposing voter ID laws and focus on other issues.
“[Voter fraud] barely exists, and it just doesn’t make any sense,” Carville said.
“Having said that, we are not going to win the war against some kind of ID. It doesn’t make any sense. It doesn’t fix anything, but maybe you just go along with it and move to the next thing.”
