FRESNO, Calif. – Proposed voter ID rules could soon change how residents in California cast ballots. Some of the effects could be felt as soon as this election season.
At the center of the discussion are new state and federal proposals that require voters to show a form of identification when casting a ballot.
Supporters argue that these changes could strengthen election security, while opponents claim they disenfranchise communities that are less likely to possess government ID and could mire the voting process with delays and bureaucratic red tape. For their part, local election officials point out that the state already has systems in place to verify voters – and that any new rules would require significant time and resources to implement.
“In Fresno County, we have 100,000 registration interactions per year, 90% to 95% which are done online or through electronic interactions,” said Fresno County Registrar of Voters James Kus. "Those 95,000 people would then need to come in person…so the resources necessary to do that would skyrocket.”
The measures are relatively similar.
A statewide proposition slated for the November ballot, organized by a Republican-led PAC known as Reform California, would require voters to show ID at voting sites and to write parts of government-issued ID numbers on the envelope when turning in their mail-in ballots.
At the federal level, the SAVE America Act – an updated version of the SAVE Act – would likewise require voters to show ID at the polls, and would also require proof of citizenship during registration.
The goals of these proposals, according to their supporters, are to prevent voter fraud and also to ensure that non-citizens can’t cast a ballot.
“By requiring Voter ID and proof-of-citizenship, the SAVE America Act will ensure that our federal elections are decided by U.S. citizens—and U.S. citizens alone,” wrote Republican Congressmen Chip Roy of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah in a January 2026 press release after introducing the bill.
“It’s common sense that, to exercise this most fundamental right of voting in this country, that you would show an ID to ensure that you are registered to vote,” said Fresno County Sheriff John Zanoni in a rally in support of the statewide ballot measure in March.
Although these measures have gathered considerable support, largely from Republicans and Republican-affiliated groups, they’ve also drawn widespread criticism.
“The SAVE America Act is another thinly veiled attempt to interfere with our elections,” said Xavier Persad, senior policy counsel for the non-profit advocacy group American Civil Liberties Union, in a February press release. “Laws like this have historically resulted in many eligible citizens being delayed or denied access to the ballot due to paperwork issues, database mismatches, or bureaucratic error.”
Voter fraud, from non-citizens or otherwise, also appears to be relatively rare. In a study of U.S. elections stretching back more than 40 years, the Conservative think tank Heritage Foundation found just 1,620 instances of voter fraud. Likewise, the public policy think tank Brookings Institution described voter fraud in the U.S. as “minuscule.”
In California, voters already have to verify their identities, but that typically happens during registration and not at the polls.
“When you register to vote, you must attest that you are a U.S. citizen, and you must also attest that you are 18 years of age. Those are the two requirements to register as a voter,” said Fresno County Registrar of Voters James Kus. “That word, ‘attest,’ is the important part…it is a legal attestation under penalty of perjury.”
At the time of registration, California voters are also required to provide a state ID, driver’s license number, or the last four digits of their social security number, which are checked against state and federal databases.
Casting ballots, however, doesn’t require any ID. When submitting ballots in person, voters are typically asked to provide their name and address. As a result, Merced County Registrar of Voters Melvin Levey said that the ID verification process during registration tends to get overlooked in broader conversations about voter ID.
“California doesn't have what folks conventionally think of as voter ID, but California does verify eligibility to vote,” Levey said.
Identification is, however, required to vote in person for a small number of first-time voters in federal elections. For example, in the 2024 presidential election, that applied to only 51 out of nearly 90,000 ballots cast in Merced County, according to Levey.
Both Levey and Kus push back on the idea that additional safeguards are needed to make elections secure, especially when the ones already in place make fraud rare. They emphasize public oversight and transparency with the ballot-counting process.
Locally, the biggest challenge of these proposals, both officials said, isn’t the security, but rather the confusion – and the resources required to carry them out.
For instance, they say there is uncertainty around which proposals could pass and when they would take effect, and this doubt is already prompting questions from the public. Levey warned that sudden changes with insufficient time or outreach could result in voters showing up unprepared or simply not voting altogether.
“Any organization needs resources or time, or both, to affect change,” Levey said. “If laws change, if new mandates come out, whether it's from Sacramento or Washington, we either need some time to comply with it, or we need some more resources or money, or all of the above.”
Indeed, the California Legislative Analyst’s Office estimates that voter ID requirements could cost state and county elections offices tens of millions of dollars at the time of implementation, as well as tens to hundreds of millions of dollars annually moving forward. The highest expenses, according to their analysis, include issuing new voter ID cards, the added costs for state elections officials to audit all 58 counties, and the additional labor required for county poll workers to verify voters.
Organizers of the California measure say they’ve received enough signatures to qualify for the statewide ballot this November. The SAVE America Act has passed the House of Representatives and is still being debated in the Senate. If it passes, it could be enacted prior to the mid-term elections.
As the proposals keep moving along, the registrars highlight that voting rules for upcoming elections still remain the same for now.
In Merced County, ballots will still be mailed to all registered voters, and vote centers will operate as usual through Election Day. The majority of voters are expected to cast ballots by mail, a system Levey said has been widely used and is trusted by many in the community.
If either of the new voter ID rules is passed, both officials say they will comply by making the necessary adjustments, and that the role of elections offices remains the same regardless of the outcome.
“We have to be realistic, in both those cases, or in any other voter ID that comes up. There's the possibility of lawsuits challenging portions of them,” Kus said. “We will follow the law, and we will follow the directions of the court.”
