{"id":31731,"date":"2026-08-08T01:36:23","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T20:36:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=31731"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:36:23","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T20:36:23","slug":"judge-rejects-challenge-to-california-attorney-generals-description-of-voter-id-measure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=31731","title":{"rendered":"Judge rejects challenge to California attorney general&#8217;s description of voter ID measure"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-element=\"story-body\" data-subscriber-content=\"\">\n<p>A state judge Thursday rejected <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2026-07-28\/voter-id-backers-sue-california-attorney-general-over-ballot-description\">a challenge<\/a> to how California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta\u2019s office summarized a strict new voter ID measure on November ballots \u2014 ruling that the summary language accurately describes the measure\u2019s effects were it to pass.<\/p>\n<p>Another judge dealt the backers of the measure a second loss by tentatively finding that their description of the measure, submitted for the official state voter\u2019s guide, was misleading. They had claimed that Proposition 39 would make voting easier.<\/p>\n<p>In the first case, Sacramento Superior Court Judge Jennifer K. Rockwell ruled that the label, title and summary of the certified ballot measure accurately describe Proposition 39 as a measure that \u201cprohibits citizens from voting\u201d \u2014 language the measure\u2019s backers specifically objected to \u2014 unless they provide a government-issued ID.<\/p>\n<p>According to minutes from a Thursday hearing on the matter, Rockwell concluded that, to the extent the measure\u2019s backers object to that language, they are objecting to \u201cthe provisions of the measure itself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rockwell rejected the argument put forth by the measure\u2019s backers that it would not prevent people without ID from voting, only their votes from being counted \u2014 a distinction the judge found lacking.<\/p>\n<p>Both parties had asked the court to move quickly ahead of printing deadlines for November ballots.<\/p>\n<p>The attorney general\u2019s office is responsible for preparing titles and summaries for ballot measures, and is not required by law to use the same language as a measure\u2019s proponents when gathering the necessary voter signatures to place the measure on the ballot.<\/p>\n<p>Bonta\u2019s office had argued in court that his office applied the same standard of review to the voter ID measure as every other ballot measure that has come before his office.<\/p>\n<p>Bonta praised Rockwell\u2019s decision <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/AGRobBonta\/status\/2085524699954676085\" target=\"_blank\">on social media<\/a> Thursday, writing that it \u201cconfirms what we have said from the start: the ballot materials at issue \u2014 the ballot title and summary and ballot label \u2014 give a true and impartial statement of Proposition 39\u2019s chief purpose and points.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy office followed the law and fulfilled its duty to provide California voters with clear, accessible, and accurate information,\u201d he wrote. \u201cWe\u2019re pleased that the court agreed with us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>California Assemblymember Carl DeMaio (R-San Diego), the chief backer of the court challenge and chairman of the group Reform California, responded to the ruling <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/carldemaio\/status\/2085742770434740666\" target=\"_blank\">with a video post to social media<\/a>, writing that it was \u201cexpected\u201d but nonetheless \u201cdisappointing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>DeMaio accused Bonta of trying to \u201cmanipulate the vote\u201d with \u201crigged\u201d language, and Rockwell of being a \u201cliberal judge\u201d who had unsurprisingly decided that Bonta \u201cgets to do corruptly what he wants to do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s pissing me off,\u201d DeMaio said in his video post.<\/p>\n<p>DeMaio predicted that Proposition 39 will still pass, but that it will take \u201call of us spreading the word that the attorney general has tried to manipulate the title on the ballot measure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Voter ID requirements are being pushed by Republicans across the country \u2014 from President Trump down \u2014 as necessary to prevent voter fraud, including by noncitizens, despite elections experts saying that such fraud is exceedingly rare and that there is no evidence that it exists in volumes large enough to swing elections.<\/p>\n<p>Democrats, including in California, have argued that states already have robust measures to ensure that only eligible voters cast ballots, including through existing security measures such as signature verification. They said stricter voter ID requirements would lead to eligible voters without ready access to documents being denied access to voting \u2014 including poorer, elderly and rural voters and married women who have changed their names.<\/p>\n<p>A majority of California voters back stricter voter ID requirements, according to <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2025-05-09\/la-times-igs-poll-on-elections-and-voter-id\">recent polls<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The Trump administration has been pressing for new voter ID requirements nationwide, including in Congress, without success. <\/p>\n<p>Passage of Proposition 39 in liberal California would represent a massive win for the administration and a setback for California\u2019s Democratic leaders. It would require substantial reforms to how the state accepts ballots both in person and through the mail \u2014 the latter being the preferred option for the vast majority of voters in recent California elections.<\/p>\n<p>Backers of Proposition 39 also took a hit in a separate court proceeding Thursday, where another judge \u2014 siding with top Democratic lawmakers \u2014 issued a tentative finding that the measure\u2019s backers were misleading voters by claiming in voter guide language that the measure would make voting easier in the state were it to pass.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is hard to conceive how it would be \u2018easy\u2019 or \u2018easier\u2019 to vote if a voter has to take the extra step of either bringing government-issued identification when voting in person or search for their government-issued identification and supply the last four digits if they vote by mail,\u201d wrote <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.courthousenews.com\/california-judge-rules-voter-id-supporters-must-rewrite-ballot-arguments\/\" target=\"_blank\">Sacramento Superior Court Judge Shelleyanne Chang<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The voter guide language will need to change as a result.<\/p>\n<p>California leaders who brought the challenge \u2014 including State Senate President Pro Tempore Monique Lim\u00f3n (D-Goleta) and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) \u2014 <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/CASpeakerRivas\/status\/2085513245373403501\" target=\"_blank\">praised the decision<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cProp 39 is a MAGA-backed power grab by Donald Trump\u2019s closest allies,\u201d Rivas said in a statement. \u201cAs today\u2019s ruling underscores, Prop 39 isn\u2019t about election security or fair elections \u2014 the real goal of the MAGA activists who wrote Prop 39 is to make it harder for Californians to vote.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>DeMaio <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/carldemaio\/status\/2085505072289792011\" target=\"_blank\">denounced the decision<\/a>, accusing Chang of having \u201csided with the politicians\u201d in California to \u201cstrike legitimate arguments on why Voter ID is needed to improve election integrity.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A state judge Thursday rejected a challenge to how California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta\u2019s office summarized a strict new voter ID measure on November ballots \u2014 ruling that the summary language accurately describes the measure\u2019s effects were it to pass. Another judge dealt the backers of the measure a second loss by tentatively finding that&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31732,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/ca-times.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/53a766a\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/4000x2100+0+288\/resize\/1200x630!\/quality\/75\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fd9%2F5d%2F934e3600430083fbf5288cf795d8%2F1476890-enviro-ag-rob-bonta07-pk.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31731"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31731\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/31732"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}