Senator Min’s Ban on Voter ID Requirements Passes the Senate Elections Committee
(SACRAMENTO, CA) – Today, the Senate Elections Committee passed Senate Bill (SB) 1174 authored by Senator Dave Min (D-Irvine). SB 1174 prohibits local governments from imposing new and locally determined voter identification (ID) requirements, and makes clear that the State of California has exclusive jurisdiction over voter verification processes for elections across the state. The bill passed on a 6-1 vote, and will be heard next in the Senate Local Government and Finance Committee.
“The defining principle of a democracy is fair and free elections,” said Senator Min. “There must be a balance between election integrity and broad participation by voters. Recently, we have seen an effort, building on the Big Lie from Donald Trump that the 2020 election was ‘stolen,’ to claim that there is widespread election fraud and to impose new and onerous requirements on voters that reduce participation in elections, without any actual proof that there is any systemic fraud. SB 1174 makes clear that election requirements such as voter identification will be determined by the State of California and not by individual local jurisdictions. I’d like to thank my colleagues for their strong support of SB 1174.”
Despite warnings of legal action from the California Secretary of State and California Attorney General, the City of Huntington Beach put forward a charter amendment last year that would undermine California election laws that prohibit voter ID requirements. The charter amendment passed early last month in the March Primary Election and is slated to implement voter ID requirements in City elections starting in 2026. If signed into law by the Governor, SB 1174 would nullify Measure A before it is enacted.
California is one of 15 states that does not require photo ID at the ballot box. Instead, election officials conduct a series of authentications to confirm voter legitimacy, including ballot tracking, mandatory recounts, and signature verification checks. As ACLU California’s witness Ruth Dawson testified at the hearing, there have been zero documented reports of systemic fraud in U.S. elections. And as Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer has noted, he has never once found enough evidence to prosecute anyone for voter fraud during his tenure.
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