Voter ID backers sue California Attorney General Rob Bonta for trying to ‘rig’ ballot measure

Supporters of California’s voter ID initiative sued Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday, accusing him of trying to “rig” the November election by using misleading ballot language to sway voters against Proposition 39.

The lawsuit — filed in Sacramento County Superior Court — names Secretary of State Shirley Weber as the respondent while challenging ballot language written by Bonta.

It seeks an expedited court order requiring the attorney general to rewrite the initiative’s ballot title, summary and label before state voter guides are finalized, arguing the language violates California law requiring ballot materials to be “true and impartial.”

“Rob Bonta knows that Prop 39 is likely to pass because it is a bipartisan solution to Voter ID and is supported by a supermajority of Democratic, independent, and Republican voters,” Assemblymember Carl DeMaio (R-San Diego) said in a statement.

“Knowing he can’t defeat our bipartisan solution to Voter ID in a fair election, he has decided to rig the vote against Prop 39 with a false title claiming it prohibits citizens from voting!”

The legal challenge comes as Democrats mount an aggressive campaign to defeat Prop. 39, with gubernatorial frontrunner Xavier Becerra and California Speaker Robert Rivas serving as honorary co-chairs of the new opposition committee, “No on 39 – Block Trump’s Election Rigging.”

Backed by SEIU California and Planned Parenthood, the campaign announced it has already raised more than $2 million, while supporters of the initiative have accumulated their own war chest, raising more than $12 million over the last year and a half.

Bonta enraged Prop. 39 backers last week when he released a new title and summary for the measure, stating that it would prohibit citizens from voting unless they present government-issued identification.

Supporters argue the description is false because Proposition 39 regulates how ballots are verified and counted rather than preventing eligible voters from casting ballots.

“The measure does not prohibit any citizen from voting but regulates which ballots are counted, a verification rule, not a disqualification,” the lawsuit states.

It argues election officials would verify a voter’s identity before counting a ballot and says Bonta’s language also omits one of the initiative’s core provisions requiring state and county officials to maintain accurate voter rolls and verify citizenship.

The lawsuit also argues Bonta abandoned his office’s own earlier description of the initiative. When the proposal was circulated for signatures in 2025, the attorney general’s office described it as establishing additional voter identification and citizenship verification requirements.

The petition says the initiative itself has not changed, making the revised language an “unexplained departure to a charged, one-sided framing” that is “likely to create prejudice against the proposed measure.”

The plaintiffs also point to the Legislative Analyst’s Office, which described the measure as requiring voters to present additional identifying information each time they vote, arguing that neutral language was readily available.

Democrats have framed the initiative as part of President Donald Trump’s broader election agenda, with Becerra saying, “Prop. 39 is his playbook coming to California.” Rivas argued the measure would make voting harder, while opponents contend voter ID requirements would disproportionately burden minority voters and others who face barriers to obtaining government-issued identification.

Supporters counter that the proposal enjoys broad public backing.

A UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll released this spring found 56% of likely voters initially supported the measure after reading a neutral description, although support declined after respondents heard arguments from both supporters and opponents.

Bonta’s office previously rejected accusations that it was attempting to influence the election, saying state law permits ballot language to be revised before an election and that all nine citizen-backed initiatives on this year’s ballot received updated language to improve clarity for voters.

A spokesperson for Bonta’s office confirmed they are reviewing the petition.

“We take our duty to prepare a title and summary and ballot label seriously,” officials said, “and we are confident the court will agree we have faithfully executed that duty here.”

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