Reform CA Voter ID Initiative Requires Photo ID To Vote, Accurate Voters Lists, Citizenship Verification

News

By Michael Hernandez, CaliRed, 7-19-25

Reform CA Voter ID Initiative Requires Photo ID To Vote, Accurate Voters Lists, Citizenship Verification: Petition Signers, Volunteers, Donors Sought

CALIRED NEWS–CA State Assemblyman Carl DeMaio, R-75, San Diego (Chair Reform California) and State Assemblywoman Heather Hadwick, R-1, Alturas, (Regional Vice-Chair Reform California) spoke to about 150 people at a Friday, July 18 afternoon Town Hall meeting on a CA Voter ID Initiative which is seeking one million signatures for a state petition within a 180-day window gathered by an army of volunteers between October, 2025-April, 2026 engaged in a Voter ID movement.

State Assemblyman DeMaio authored a state constitutional amendment to impose a Voter ID requirement that will force the initiative on the ballot for a public vote in 2026.

DeMaio claims that over 70 percent of California voters would approve his initiative. Because DeMaio’s proposal is a constitutional amendment, once approved by the voters, elected state officials will be compelled to comply with it for all future elections. His amendment requires:

• Photo ID to Vote: Voters would provide a government issued ID for in-person voting or provide the last four digits of a government issued ID such as a driver’s license or social security number for voting by mail. This allows election officials to complete a full verification of the identity of each voter, minimizing risk of voter fraud.
• Accurate Voter Lists: Election officials would be required to maintain accurate voter rolls and remove any ineligible voters before mailing ballots out.
• Verification of Citizenship: Election officials would be required to verify the citizenship of an individual before adding them to the state’s voter rolls.

Both Assemblyman DeMaio and Assemblywoman Hadwick were at a press conference at the State Capitol in Sacramento on Wednesday, July 16 when they launched the campaign to require voter identification in California.

“We will not have fraud-free or fair elections in California until we pass a Voter ID law and enact other important reform to restore election integrity in our state,” said DeMaio. “Passing Voter ID in California will be a game-changer–with the potential to provide the biggest and quickest impact on how our state is run.”

The 3-steps outlined at the Redding Town Hall were:

1. Sign The Online Petition (VoterIDPetition.org): “Before we initiate the qualification phase of the campaign, we need to collect 250,000 online pledges from voters to show we have adequate support.”

(Editor’s Note: 180,000 online pledges have been gathered. VoterID Petitions will be sent out free and collected monthly at distribution centers.)

2. Volunteer To Get Signatures (VoterIDVolunteer.org): “We need volunteers to collect signatures from friends and family. Sign up and let us know how many you can get.”
3. Contribute (VoterIDInitiative.org): “Before we proceed with the qualification phase of the campaign, we have to raise $1 million to cover the hard costs.”

(Editor’s Note: $1 million has been raised as of July 17.)

Five More Town Hall Meetings Set July 19-August 6:

• July 19: Marysville (Yuba County GOP Headquarters, 526 E St.): 9-10 a.m.
• July 19: Modesto (Senior Citizens Center, 211 Bodem St.): 4-5 p.m.
• July 20: Clovis (Armstrong Transit Center, 785 Third St.): 12-1 p.m.
• July 20: Bakersfield (Rasmussen Senior Center, 115 E. Roberts Ln.): 5-6 p.m.
• Aug. 6: (Online Zoom Webinar): 12-1 p.m.

California is challenging a local measure passed by voters in the City of Huntington Beach to require voter identification at the polls. Last year, the state sued Huntington Beach and Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law prohibiting local governments in California from establishing and enforcing laws that require residents to provide identification to vote in elections.

California is among 14 states and the District of Columbia that do not require votes to show some form of identification at the polls or to register to vote. At the urging of President Donald J. Trump, Congressional Republicans have been working to advance their own legislation to overhaul the nation’s voting procedures.

(Editor’s Note: See EIPCa Pursues Federal Legislation For National Election Reform: Will Host Six Ventura County Events Between July 23-28: https://substack.com/home/post/p-168407732.)

Editor’s note: You might be wondering why we are running this article about a California Elections watchdog organization and trend-setter. We are because they have done some breakthrough work that has applicability here in Florida, as well. Mr. Hernandez regularly publishes in Citizens Journal Florida, too.

CaliRed News is a column posted on Making California Red by the 2026 elections through reaching Gen Z (ages 13-28), Hispanics, and Christians with biblical traditional values and their pastors. CaiRed News reports on political, business, community, nonprofit, and church news. Free subscriptions are available by going to: https://substack.com/@calirednews.

Michael Hernandez, is co-founder of the Citizens Journal–Ventura County’s online news service and writes for Citizensjournal.net (an online news platform in Nassau County, FL) and MountainTopMedia.com (an online media platform in Shasta County, CA). He is a former Southern California daily newspaper journalist and religion and news editor, writer of “CaliRed News” on Substack.com and “Prayer Over News Daily” and edits the weekly “Stories Speak Volumes” and other columns. Mr. Hernandez mentors citizen journalists/podcasters and can be contacted at [email protected] or on his website at MikeHernandezMedia.com.