The GOP backers of a sweeping voter ID measure set to appear on California’s ballot in November are suing state officials for slightly altering the proposal’s language for voters.
The Republican plaintiffs, led by California Assemblyman Carl DeMaio (R), said that California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) and Secretary of State Shirley Weber (D) changed a key line of the language to say that the proposed measure “prohibits citizens from voting unless they present government-issued identification.”
The suit alleges that the new language is inaccurate because the measure wouldn’t stop Californians from voting, just from having their vote counted.
It “regulates which ballots are counted, not whether a citizen may cast one,” the GOP argues.
The original text in the ballot measure’s language said that the new proposed voter ID rule “establishes additional voter identification and citizenship verification requirements.”