California AG slammed for defending language change on voter ID ballot after ‘rigging’ allegations

California Attorney General Rob Bonta is facing outrage for defending his rewording of ballot language for the state’s voter ID law.

The Democrat has been accused of a misleading, last-minute change to the description of  Proposition 39, which would require voters to provide government ID at the polls or the last four digits of a ID number if voting by mail.

Bonta’s office defended the changes in a post on X explaining the roundly derided move.

“Fact: It is common for ballot titles and summaries to change from the circulating version to the version voters see on the ballot. California law expressly allows these changes to provide further clarity for voters,” he wrote, adding that “all nine voter-proposed initiatives” on the ballot were edited.

“California DOJ takes seriously its responsibility to provide accurate and impartial information to inform voters.”

In original description, Prop 39 was described as a measure that “establishes additional voter identification and citizenship verification requirements.” But after the voter ID proposal qualified for the November ballot, Bonta changed it to say that it “prohibits citizens from voting unless they present government-issued identification.”

“Seems the rewording is a violation — your rewording was not impartial and is likely to create prejudice,” one X user replied to Bonta’s post.

“Rob Bonta you are a complete fraud. This is so dishonest. Your changes totally distort what the voter id proposition is set to do,” another added.

“You are attempting to manipulate the vote by changing the perception of the bill from its intended purpose because you know you would lose otherwise,” wrote Brian Ralston, a Los Angeles composer. “Thus you are a dangerous, manipulative, ideological, traitorous clown.”

Some brought up the history of California attorneys general writing allegedly slanted descriptions of ballot measures as a reason not to trust Bonta.

For example, a past ballot proposal that would let voters repeal the state’s gas taxes was instead described as a measure that “eliminates certain road repair and transportation funding.”

“Everyone was confused by repeal of 2017 gas tax prop, maybe you guys SUCK at rewrites and shouldn’t do it,” wrote user Amanda Sereno.

The blowback comes as backers of Prop 39 float the idea of a lawsuit to challenge Bonta, though such a challenge is unlikely to be successful considering that courts have mostly sided with the attorney general’s discretion on ballot measures in past cases.

“We cannot allow this corruption to happen without putting up a fight!” declared Reform California, the organization behind Prop 39, in a fundraising pitch on Friday.

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters