{"id":1358,"date":"2026-08-07T06:12:07","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T06:12:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationallogisticspost.com\/?p=1358"},"modified":"2026-08-07T06:12:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T06:12:07","slug":"the-real-threat-to-california-election-integrity-biased-ballot-titles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationallogisticspost.com\/?p=1358","title":{"rendered":"The Real Threat to California Election Integrity? Biased Ballot Titles"},"content":{"rendered":"
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S<\/span>ACRAMENTO \u2014\u00a0California\u2019s biggest legislative battles are fought at the ballot box given our state\u2019s freewheeling initiative process, which places make-or-break power in the hands of the attorney general. AGs write the titles and summaries of any measure that makes it to the statewide ballot. Those descriptions are the main \u2014 or only \u2014 information voters read before making their decision. As partisan politicians, AGs often write those descriptions to benefit their allies and hobble their foes.<\/p>\n

Read more The Good and the Bad of the \u2018Common Good\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

The state is now in the midst of a battle over a Voter ID measure that voters will consider on the November ballot \u2014 so of course this time-tested AG tradition of putting their finger on the scales is front and center. AG Rob Bonta is a progressive Democrat who has battled various Voter ID proposals, so his latest changes to the ballot title have prompted understandable anger \u2014 and even a lawsuit \u2014 from the measure\u2019s supporters.<\/p>\n

Proposition 39 is a fairly modest proposal placed on the ballot through signature-gathering. Per the Legislative Analyst\u2019s Office, it \u201crequires voters to present government-issued identification\u201d when voting in person. \u201cWhen voting by mail, Proposition\u00a039 requires voters to provide the last four digits of their selected government-issued identification number on the ballot envelope.\u201d<\/p>\n

As KPBS reported, Bonta\u2019s office initially offered this description: \u201cEstablishes additional voter identification and citizenship verification requirements.\u201d But in early July, \u201cthey changed that language to \u2018\u2019\u201d That\u2019s a startling difference, as the first explanation seems benign, whereas the second one sounds nefarious. It\u2019s one thing to require additional voter identification and quite another to prohibit citizens from voting. Prop. 39 proponents have a solid complaint.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, leading legislative Democrats have sued the secretary of state for elements of proponents\u2019 \u201cvote yes\u201d argument printed in the state\u2019s official voting guide. Proponents claim the measure will make voting easier and that it will result in cost savings. Those lawmakers might be correct, as the measure does, on its face, impose new hurdles, however small, on voters. The LAO, which provides genuinely fair-minded analyses, pins the additional costs on local governments at \u201ctens of millions of dollars to low hundreds of millions of dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, supporters and foes who make pro and con arguments should have more leeway than the AG, who writes the overall explanation. AGs, from our likely next governor Xavier Becerra to former Vice President Kamala Harris, were notorious for their alleged title-writing biases. Harris was accused of echoing labor-union talking points in a way that killed a 2014 pension-reform measure, for instance. Republican AGs have done so, as well, but it\u2019s been 26 years since we had one of those.<\/p>\n

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California\u2019s voting system is ripe for improvement, but the problem lies in our slow vote-counting.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

I have no problem with narrowly tailored, state-based reforms that require voting identification \u2014 provided the measures don\u2019t impose undue burdens on voters or are the cat\u2019s paw for partisan shenanigans. Prop. 39 seems to conform to that standard and perhaps will, as supporters suggest, instill more confidence in California\u2019s elections. I take umbrage at those who claim Voter ID will revive the California GOP\u2019s electoral prospects, and others who cast aspersions on the state\u2019s voting system mainly because they don\u2019t understand how votes are tallied.\u00a0(RELATED: <\/strong>What\u2019s Happening in Los Angeles Is an Exercise in Brute-Force Politics<\/strong>)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Read more The Conservative Moment Arrives<\/a><\/p>\n

California\u2019s voting system is ripe for improvement, but the problem lies in our slow vote-counting. That can be fixed by, say, allowing registrars to start tabulating votes before the polls close on Election Day or changing deadlines so voters don\u2019t have a full week after Election Day for their mail-in ballots to arrive. But that doesn\u2019t mean registrars are stealing elections.\u00a0(RELATED: <\/strong>The Indefatigable California Vote Factory<\/strong>)<\/strong><\/p>\n

A new scorecard by my R Street Institute colleague, governance fellow Chris McIsaac, found that our nation\u2019s decentralized election system yields various levels of efficiency, but most states do a decent and fair job tabulating results. The lowest states scored a 3 out of 5 based on a variety of administrative standards, including their ability to accurately identify voters. California\u2019s overall system received a middling 3.5, with its problems centered on the so-so way it maintains its lists \u2014 and its lacking voter-identification system. Prop. 39 could help raise our grade, but it should be up to the states \u2014 and not the feds \u2014 to tinker with their systems.<\/p>\n

Seeing the Trump administration trying to meddle in state elections by accessing voter data is disturbing, given the partisan nature of the election comments made by the president. We wouldn\u2019t want, say, the Biden administration sticking its fingers in local election counting. We shouldn\u2019t want Republicans to do it, either. Per the report, state \u201cdifferences strengthen the system \u2026 because they allow for experimentation and innovation that can either lead to new best practices or serve as cautionary tales on strategies to avoid.\u201d Two cheers for federalism.<\/p>\n

However, California really does need to do something about its most obvious case of election interference: those above-mentioned attorney generals who have a long history of meddling in initiative contests by unfairly describing the measures. If California really wants to boost faith in its elections, it should turn that power over to, say, the LAO or a panel of retired judges \u2014 but I somehow doubt that there\u2019s any appetite in Sacramento to do so.<\/p>\n

Whatever one thinks about Voter ID, it is well within the purview of the state\u2019s voters to decide on such basic election matters. It would be an election-integrity-undermining travesty if a biased description were the deciding factor.<\/p>\n

READ MORE from Steven Greenhut:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Forget the Singularity: Universal AI Surveillance Is Here<\/strong><\/p>\n

California\u2019s Recycled Enviro Strategies Keep Backfiring<\/strong><\/p>\n

California Wants to Make it Easier to Sue Businesses<\/strong><\/p>\n

Steven Greenhut is Western region director for the R Street Institute. Write to him at [email\u00a0protected].<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Read more Is \u2018Cancel Thanksgiving\u2019 Really a Winning Message for Democrats?<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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