If you ever want to witness California’s dirty Democrat politics and get a first-hand look at how the progressives thwart the will of the people, just take a look at the battle over Prop. 39.
The common sense initiative, which made the ballot in April, was signed by over 1.3 million people and would amend the California Constitution to require voters to present government-issued identification at the polls or the last four digits of a government-issued identification number when voting by mail.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the November election: State Attorney General Rob Bonta changed the name of the citizen-endorsed ballot measure from:
ESTABLISHES ADDITIONAL VOTER IDENTIFICATION AND CITIZENSHIP VERIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.
To the sinister-sounding:
PROHIBITS CITIZENS FROM VOTING UNLESS THEY PRESENT GOVERNMENT-ISSUED IDENTIFICATION.
What the heck, you may ask. Is he allowed to do that, to totally change the title of a measure that the people voted for? In a word, yes; the state constitution gives him that power as AG. Backers, including Assemblymember Carl DeMaio (R-75), mounted a lawsuit, but it’s the Golden State, so you didn’t think a judge would overrule Bonta here, would you?
And true to form, Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Jennifer K. Rockwell ruled Thursday that the new description was accurate and that Bonta’s move was entirely appropriate.
Sometimes, watching "the process" at work can make you nauseous. Bonta’s new ballot title is so loaded and misleading that it makes you want to bang your head against the wall.
BREAKING: Liberal Judges Allow California's Corrupt Politicians to Try to Rig Election Against Prop 39's Bipartisan Voter ID Initiative. Read full statement: pic.twitter.com/o4dVLhuz0i
— Carl DeMaio (@carldemaio) August 6, 2026
Now, gubernatorial frontrunner Xavier Becerra is on an all-out blitz to make sure that the measure, which polling in April showed 56 percent of the people supported (before the name change), never sees the light of day.
RELATED: CA AG Rob Bonta Sued for Manipulation of Prop 39 Voter ID Language Ahead of the November Election
What Are They So Afraid Of? CA AG Bonta's Slippery Title Switch Tries to Kneecap Voter ID Measure
In the minds of Democrats like the listless Becerra, proving who you are amounts to “election rigging”:
Prop 39 is Donald Trump’s latest scheme to make it harder for Californians to vote.
— Xavier Becerra (@XavierBecerra) August 7, 2026
He knows he can’t win fair and square — so he’s trying to intimidate voters and rig the rules.
Vote NO on Prop 39. pic.twitter.com/xY9tjyoafi
Like Bonta’s slippery title change, Becerra’s post is greasy and disingenuous: It is not Trump’s “scheme,” it is a citizenship verification initiative that the president had nothing to do with. Meanwhile, painting California’s refusal to ensure legitimate voter rolls as “fair and square” is ludicrous.
We all know that they will do anything to keep the rolls as loosey-goosey as possible, because it benefits them.
In fact, as the state crumbles around him after almost 16 years of one-party progressive rule, Becerra’s main goal appears to be preventing voters from proving who they are at the ballot box. He’s now the honorary co-chair of a committee, “No on 39 — Block Trump’s Election Rigging,” which is cooperating with a separate coalition of a Who’s Who of wide-eyed leftist organizations like SEIU California, the California Teachers Association and Planned Parenthood that are working feverishly to convince voters that securing our elections is akin to ruthlessly oppressing the citizenry.
Although there is no polling data available since Bonta’s sleight of hand, efforts like these have unfortunately worked in the past. As I wrote in July, none other than former state AG Kamala Harris helped increase crime and violence in our streets with this slick little maneuver:
Playing games with titles and/or the explanations of measures is a regular occurrence on the Left Coast. There was no more repugnant example of that than the one provided by then-Attorney General Kamala Harris in 2014. Her office wrote and approved the title for Proposition 47, which they laughably named the “Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act.” Of course, that measure reclassified some non-violent offenses from felonies to misdemeanors and served up other soft-on-crime provisions, leading to a predictable explosion in crime and the crises in the state’s cities that we see to this day.
Who’s going to vote against something called the "Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act?"
Meanwhile, Gavin Newsom is never one to let a good crisis go to waste, and in 2025 he backed Prop 50, the “Election Rigging Response Act.” And what was the purpose of that initiative? To rip up the state constitution and… wait for it… rig the election by redrawing the congressional maps. This despite the fact that voters had previously amended the state’s charter to provide for an independent commission to do that job.
The initiative passed, and the state was radically redrawn in favor of the Democrats. Their motto seems to be, “Sometimes you got to destroy Democracy to save Democracy.”
Gavin Newsom Claims Prop 50 Was An Election Rigging Response Act
— Mr Producer (@RichSementa) November 9, 2025
"This is the election rigging response act. This was not a fight we chose... This goes back to the federalization of the National Guard." pic.twitter.com/dfkYjZPSlv
Kamala Harris recently said the Democrats need to become more “ruthless.” I would argue that in California, they are already wholly without principle and would trample over any sense of ethics if it involves encouraging illegal immigration, ensuring the voter rolls are not scrutinized, and crossing any bounds to make sure elections go in their favor.
Why should it matter to you if you don’t live here? Because remorseless Democrats are not somehow confined to this state; there are plenty more throughout the country, and they’re watching Newsom, Bonta, Harris, Becerra and Co. and taking notes. Just ask any conservative in Virginia who thought, “Well, Abigail Spanberger wasn’t my first choice for governor, but maybe she won’t be so bad.”
How’s that working out?
Editor’s Note: California is the poster child for everything that is wrong with the Democrat Party and the “progressive” movement.
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