filed suit Monday<\/a> against California\u2019s secretary of state and attorney general over a change to the wording of a ballot initiative that will be decided in November\u2019s election.<\/p>\nProposition 39 seeks to impose identification requirements for Golden State voters. If approved, voters would have to show government-issued ID at the polls, or provide the last four digits of a government-issued ID number when voting by mail. Additionally, California would have to provide voter ID cards when requested, and elections officials would have annual reporting requirements, showing the percentage of each county\u2019s voters whose citizenship they\u2019ve verified.<\/p>\n
No ID is currently required at the state\u2019s polls.<\/p>\n
Californians for Voter ID, Yes on 39 and an Orange County voter filed suit in Sacramento County Superior Court over a change Attorney General Rob Bonta\u2019s office made to the measure\u2019s title and summary. Initially, it stated the proposition \u201cEstablishes additional voter identification and citizenship verification requirements.\u201d Bonta\u2019s office changed it to: \u201cProhibits citizens from voting unless they present government-issued identification.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat statement is not a true and impartial statement of the measure\u2019s purpose,\u201d the plaintiffs write in their complaint.<\/p>\n
The plaintiffs are asking a judge to require the state to amend or strike the challenged language and have the secretary of state include the new language in the voter information guide. Alternatively, they want the phrase \u201cprohibits citizens from voting\u201d removed.<\/p>\n
They also want the suit resolved quickly, as election deadlines loom.<\/p>\n
A public examination period for the ballot measures lasts from July 21 to Aug. 10, after which they go to a printer.<\/p>\n
The plaintiffs say the measure wouldn\u2019t prohibit someone from casting a ballot, but instead affects whether that vote is counted, as a voter\u2019s identity must be verified for it to count. It doesn\u2019t require those who vote by mail to show ID, the plaintiffs claim, saying those voters would provide digits on an ID that the state could match with already existing records.<\/p>\n
The plaintiffs argue that while the original language is neutral and states the measure\u2019s two main purposes, the attorney general added prohibitive terms and tweaked the summary, saying it invalidates mail ballots without the last four digits of a government ID written on the envelope, and prohibits in-person voting if the person does not show ID.<\/p>\n
The ballot label makes no mention of the duty to maintain accurate voter rolls and verify citizenship, the plaintiffs say.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe lead characterization in the title, summary, and label, that the measure \u2018prohibits citizens from voting,\u2019 is affirmatively inaccurate,\u201d the plaintiffs say in the complaint. \u201cBy its terms the measure regulates which ballots are counted, not whether a citizen may cast one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pointing to the printing deadline, the plaintiffs say that without a swift decision from a judge, the attorney general\u2019s wording will reach millions of voters in the state\u2019s voter information guide.<\/p>\n
Bonta fielded questions last week about the lawsuit, which he was anticipating. He said his office prepared nine voter-initiated ballot measures for the upcoming November election.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll nine of them had changes,\u201d he added. \u201cAll nine. It would be strange if Prop 39 had none. It\u2019s very common.\u201d<\/p>\n
The attorney general also called the proponents\u2019 language inappropriate and false.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is more helpful to voters,\u201d he said of his office\u2019s changes. \u201cIt is more accurate.\u201d<\/p>\n
State Senator Tony Strickland, a Huntington Beach Republican and coauthor of the measure, told Courthouse News in a statement that Proposition 39 drew millions of signatures from across the political spectrum.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s shameful that the attorney general is using his power to influence voters through misleading ballot language,\u201d he added. \u201cPublic trust depends on keeping politics out of the ballot language. Californians are smart enough to see through the political spin and make their own decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n
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