Republican Megadonors Flood California Voter-ID Ballot Measure with $28M Funding

Republican donors, anchored by Illinois billionaire Richard Uihlein who contributed $17 million, along with Steven Bray, the Winklevoss twins and Nicole Shanahan, have funded California’s Proposition 39, a measure to require voters to show a driver’s license or other government ID at the polls. The Yes campaign has raised over $28 million, surpassing the opposition’s $11 million as the November ballot approaches. Proponents argue the requirement mirrors ID checks for air travel and alcohol purchases and would improve election security, noting that 36 states already have similar rules.

Critics, including the California League of Women Voters and Common Cause, contend the proposal would burden the state’s largely mail-ballot electorate—about 90 %—and disproportionately affect low-income, mobile, and minority voters, emphasizing that voter fraud is exceedingly rare. The initiative, driven by Assemblymember Carl DeMaio’s Reform California, is seen by analysts as a trial for comparable voter-ID efforts in battleground states such as Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Recent polls indicate support for the measure has fallen below a majority as voters learn more about its potential impact.