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Archive photo · 9 March 2014California Voters Reject Proposition 39 Voter ID Measure
5 Local Western2 Western MainstreamPhoto: Andre m, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cropped for layout
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Prop 39, which would require government-issued ID to vote, was defeated. Multiple outlets reported Prop 39 failed to pass in California.
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7 outlets told this the same way.
California Prop 39 Defeated
California voters rejected Proposition 39, a ballot measure that would have amended the State Constitution to require citizens to present government-issued identification to vote in person or to provide a government-issued identification number to vote by mail. California’s election results coverage also described Proposition 39 as trailing in early returns, with Proposition 39 trailing 40% to 60% in early returns. California’s voter ID measure was framed as a priority of President Donald Trump in the San Francisco Chronicle’s reporting, and the measure’s backers said it would build trust in elections and strengthen the state’s process for ensuring noncitizens cannot vote.
Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi opposed the measure and said, "It is something they’ve done in a vicious, malicious way on the ballot to undermine our democracy." California’s ballot measure also faced opposition arguments that a signature should be sufficient when voting, and the Orange County Register said "No on Prop 39 had a large early" lead.
What Prop 39 Would Have Done
Proposition 39 would have expanded identification requirements by requiring voters to provide proof of citizenship when registering and filling out their ballots, and it would also require voters to bring an ID to the polls when voting or provide the last four digits of a government ID when submitting mail ballots. The KTLA account said California voters will not have to provide proof of citizenship when registering and filling out their ballots after Prop 39 failed to pass Tuesday. The San Francisco Chronicle described Proposition 39 as forcing the state’s more than 23 million registered voters to re-register with a four-digit PIN number, and it said the measure would push legitimate voters off the state’s voter rolls.
The San Francisco Chronicle also said California and federal law already prevent noncitizens from voting, and it described the measure’s critics as saying the new steps would slow down the counting process. The San Francisco Chronicle quoted Assembly Member Carl Demaio asking, "How do we fix this?" and linking his answer to passing Prop 39 for voter ID.
Broader Election Stakes
California’s 2026 midterm election coverage placed Proposition 39 alongside 14 statewide propositions, including ballot measures on wealth taxes and election integrity.
CBS News reported that Democrat Xavier Becerra was elected to replace termed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom, and it said Becerra will become the state's first Latino governor since Romualdo Pacheco in 1875.
CBS News also said Prop. 40 would issue a one-time 5% tax on wealth accumulated by taxpayers valued over $1 billion, while Prop. 41 and 42 could nullify its results if passed.
The California proposition results coverage from CalMatters said the campaigns for and against these propositions have spent a total of nearly $1 billion, and it described the ballot measures as including a billionaire tax and changes to recall elections.
CalMatters said Prop. 39 would require voters to present a government-issued ID when voting in person, and it described the measure as part of a statewide set that included Prop. 3, Prop. 4, and Prop. 5.