{"id":409903,"date":"2026-07-23T21:06:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T21:06:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/409903\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T21:06:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T21:06:17","slug":"californias-top-lawyer-is-deceiving-voters-to-sabotage-democracy-but-we-can-stop-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/409903\/","title":{"rendered":"California\u2019s top lawyer is deceiving voters to sabotage democracy. But we can stop him"},"content":{"rendered":"

File Rob Bonta’s latest stunt under “Democrats’ dirty tricks.”<\/a><\/p>\n

Subcategory: familiar.<\/p>\n

The California attorney general had the (predictable) gall this week to play partisan games with the Voter ID initiative<\/a> on the Nov. 3 ballot.<\/p>\n

He did this by shifting the language that will describe Prop. 39<\/a> when it goes before voters this fall.<\/p>\n

Original ballot language: “ESTABLISHES ADDITIONAL VOTER IDENTIFICATION<\/a> AND CITIZENSHIP VERIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.”<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The California attorney general had the (predictable) gall this week to play partisan games with the Voter ID initiative on the Nov. 3 ballot. AP Photo\/Jeff Chiu<\/p>\n

\"He<\/p>\n

He did this by shifting the language that will describe Prop. 39 when it goes before voters this fall. Bloomberg via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Simple and neutral.<\/p>\n

Replacement verbiage, aka the Bonta Special: “PROHIBITS CITIZENS FROM VOTING UNLESS THEY PRESENT GOVERNMENT-ISSUED IDENTIFICATION.”<\/p>\n

Note the first three words of the Bonta Special.<\/p>\n

“Prohibits citizens from voting” \u2026 now that sounds unfair, doesn’t it?<\/p>\n

That’s the idea.\u00a0<\/p>\n

By reframing the summary \u2014 calling the measure’s purpose a prohibition of rights rather than a verification process to ensure that only citizens vote, as per the law \u2014 Bonta seeks to manipulate voters, not inform them.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In other words: He puts a dirty-trick thumb on the scale.<\/p>\n

This trick matters because ballot descriptions are the only thing many voters read before deciding how to vote.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"This<\/p>\n

This trick matters because ballot descriptions are the only thing many voters read before deciding how to vote. Bloomberg via Getty Images<\/p>\n

They trust the state AG’s shorthand to accurately describe the measure at hand.<\/p>\n

They shouldn’t.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And that’s a message advocates of Voter ID need to make sure Californians hear and understand before November, as the campaign heats up.<\/p>\n

As noted, Bonta’s tactic is familiar. He and his Democratic AG predecessors have revamped California ballot descriptions for years, always (surprise!) to favor the interests of Democrats.<\/p>\n

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters<\/p>\n

California Post News: Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, TikTok<\/a>, X<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, WhatsApp<\/a>, LinkedIn<\/a>
California Post Sports Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, TikTok<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, X<\/a>
California Post Opinion<\/a>
California Post Newsletters: Sign up here!<\/a>
California Post App: Download here!<\/a>
Home delivery: Sign up here!<\/a>Page Six Hollywood<\/a>: <\/a>Sign up here!<\/a><\/p>\n

In one egregious example, then-AG and now gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra used distorted ballot language to torpedo a 2018 tax-hike repeal measure.<\/p>\n

After a legal challenge, the court-ordered verbiage read: “Repeals recently-enacted gas and diesel taxes and vehicle registration fees.”<\/p>\n

Yet here’s what appeared on the ballot, after an appeals court deferred to Becerra’s preferred framing: “Eliminates certain road repair and transportation funding. Requires certain fuel taxes and vehicle fees to be approved by the electorate.”<\/p>\n

Shocker: The measure failed.<\/p>\n

\"After<\/p>\n

After a legal challenge, the court-ordered verbiage read: “Repeals recently-enacted gas and diesel taxes and vehicle registration fees.” Bloomberg via Getty Images<\/p>\n

That’s exactly the dirty trick Bonta’s engaging in now.<\/p>\n

Polls show strong, bipartisan support for a Voter ID law, even in deep-blue California. And for good reason: Californians want elections with results they can trust.<\/p>\n

And it would be better for all stakeholders (of goodwill) if questions about whether noncitizens vote in the state’s notoriously lax balloting were largely settled by a straightforward Voter ID requirement.<\/p>\n

That’s why voting yes on Prop. 39 is a no-brainer for California.<\/p>\n

Prop. 39 would require ID to vote in person, or the last four digits of a government-issued number to vote by mail.<\/p>\n

It’s a simple safeguard that would boost trust in elections and help quell suspicions of fraud.<\/p>\n

But instead of letting the issue pass or fail on its merits, the state’s AG deals dirty tricks.<\/p>\n

Bonta hopes distorted ballot language will deceive Californians into voting against their own interests.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dear voters, don’t fall for it.<\/p>\n