The troubling news about two crucial polls in California

There are two choices that should be no-brainers for California voters in November.

One is to support Proposition 39, which would require ID to vote.

The other is to oppose Proposition 40, the so-called “billionaire tax.”

Yet both of these sensible positions are underwater, according to the most recent poll.

The “billionaire tax” is leading — albeit with less than a majority — with 48% of likely voters supporting it, and only 41% opposed. 

And voter ID is losing, with 51% opposing it, and 42% supporting it.

That’s despite opinion polls consistently showing that voters across the board — including Democrats and minorities — believe that voters should have to show ID to vote.

Notably, the poll used the same misleading title and description that California Attorney General Rob Bonta slapped onto the voter ID initiative. 

He replaced the original title approved by his office — “Establishes Additional Voter Identification and Citizenship Verification Requirements” — with a new title, “Prohibits Citizens from Voting Unless They Present Government-Issued Identification.”

No wonder the polls look so bad. Telling Californians that someone wants to “prohibit … citizens from voting” is bound to stir opposition, and even fear.

What Proposition 39 intends to do is the opposite — namely, to prevent noncitizens from voting. That’s the whole point. 

As for Proposition 40 and the seizure of 5% of the wealth owned by billionaires, the public has been told, for so long, that billionaires don’t “pay their fair share” than many seem inclined to believe it.

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Maybe they also believe the title of Proposition 40, which promises that the seizure of 5% of the wealth of California’s citizens will only be a “one-time tax.”

As if that’s a credible promise. There are no “one-time” or “temporary” taxes.

Just look at one of the other ballot propositions, Proposition 3.

It would make a “temporary” tax on the rich, enacted in 2012, permanent.

That one, too, has a misleading title: “Provides Permanent Funding for Schools and Health Care,” it begins. The part about taxes comes at the end.

It would be tragic if California voters passed Proposition 40 while voting down Proposition 39 — taking away the property of our fellow citizens, while making it harder for citizens to do anything about it through the ballot box.

Now is the time for everyone who cares about the future of the state, from all parties, to set politics aside and stand up for common sense and what’s right.