Anthony Eramya
Staff Writer
At a time when voting rights are less of a sure thing, California has enacted a new law that prohibits local governments from requiring voters to present ID to cast a ballot.
The law, based on state Senate Bill 1174, was authored by Democrat Dave Min, who was recently elected to Congress. Min, who is based in Orange County, put forth the bill in part to respond to a Huntington Beach measure that would have allowed the city to require voters to present ID before casting a ballot there.
The new state law, which took effect Jan. 1, supersedes the Huntington Beach measure, and will prevent other California cities from enacting similar voter ID laws.
According to the text of the new law, “Voter identification laws have historically been used to disenfranchise low-income voters, voters of color, voters with disabilities and senior voters.”
“Voter suppression is widespread while voter fraud is extremely rare,” said University of La Verne Professor of Political Science Jason Neidleman. “This law reduces voting barriers, which is much needed.”
“Not everyone has a government-issued ID, even if they are legal citizens,” added Mary Anne Mendoza, assistant professor of political science at Cal Poly Pomona. “Since 2020 the argument for voter fraud has gotten stronger, although the evidence has not.”
A 2020 Associated Press report found that in six swing states, only about 0.02% of votes were flagged for fraud.
Mendoza said the new law will benefit students.
“Some students do not have federally issued ID despite being legally allowed to vote. It is much harder for students to find the time to go get an ID,” she said.
At the federal level, HR1, the “For the People Act of 2021” – which would have offered several provisions to make voting easier for all U.S. citizens, including increasing the voting timeline, expanding vote-by-mail options and introducing automatic voter registration – ultimately did not get enough votes of the full legislature to pass.
Democratic legislators generally support such voter expansion measures, while Republicans generally do not. With Republicans in control of the House, Senate and Whitehouse, increasing voting access is up to the states.
In elections, communities of color wait in longer lines to vote, are subject to more frequent intimidation at the polls and are more likely to have their mail ballots invalidated, according to several recent reports.
The new California law “is definitely going to affect low-income voters more,” Neidleman said. “Anything where the barrier of entry is opened benefits low-income communities, and anything where the barrier gets thicker holds back these same low-income communities.”
First-time voters in California still must provide a driver’s license number, a California identification number or the last four digits of their Social Security number to register to vote.
“California is very ahead on voter rights. They allow people to cast provisional ballots,” Mendoza said.
Anthony Eramya can be reached at anthony.eramya@laverne.edu.
Anthony Eramya, a senior journalism major, is a staff photographer for the Campus Times and La Verne Magazine. He has previously served as a staff writer for both publications.
