**Presented by the CA Indivisible State Network GOTV Workgroup
with CA Common Cause and CA Clean Money**
Tuesday, September 15 · 7:00 PM · Zoom
Please join us for the second of four statewide webinars on the November ballot measures, hosted by the CA Indivisible State Network GOTV Workgroup. This one covers Props 4, 5 and 39.
Last week’s measures were about money. These three are about the machinery — who gets to vote, who can afford to run, and what happens when a governor is recalled.
**Prop 39** would write a voter ID requirement into the state constitution. You’d show a government-issued ID at the polls, or supply the last four digits of an ID number on a mail ballot. California already requires identification to register, already checks signatures on every mail ballot, and already has more than 85% of eligible voters registered. The Legislative Analyst puts the cost of the new system at tens of millions to low hundreds of millions of dollars a year.
And here is the line worth reading twice, from the state’s own analysis in your voter guide: the measure could produce some savings, because fewer people would be registered to vote — including eligible voters who don’t have a government-issued ID.
That isn’t a side effect buried by opponents. It’s in the official fiscal estimate.
Prop 39 has raised about $21 million. Roughly half of it — $10.5 million — came from a single out-of-state billionaire, Illinois shipping-supply magnate Richard Uihlein, one of the largest donors to Donald Trump. The campaign is led by Republican Assemblymember Carl DeMaio. It is currently leading in the polls.
**Prop 4** runs the other direction. It repeals California’s ban on public campaign financing, letting state and local governments set up programs for candidates who accept spending limits. It bars those programs from drawing on money earmarked for education, transportation or public safety, bars candidates from spending public funds on legal defense or repaying personal loans, and triples the maximum fine for campaign contributions from foreign entities. In plain terms: it makes it possible to run for office without a rich network behind you.
**Prop 5** fixes a structural flaw the 2021 recall exposed. Today, a recall ballot asks two questions at once — remove the officeholder, and who replaces them — which means a successor can take office with a small fraction of the vote, far fewer than voted to keep the incumbent. Under Prop 5, if a governor is recalled the lieutenant governor steps up; other offices stay vacant until a special election or appointment. The recalled officer can run in that election.
The workgroup has studied all three, and here is where we came out: **YES on 4, YES on 5, NO on 39.**
We’ll walk through what each measure actually does, the money behind each campaign, and what Prop 39 would mean in practice for voters in rural counties, for seniors who no longer drive, and for anyone whose ID doesn’t match their current name. There will be real time for questions.
REGISTER FOR SEPTEMBER 15
Three sessions remain in the series — September 15, 22 and 29, all Tuesdays at 7:00 PM. You can sign up for all three at once, or for just the one or two you want. Take whichever fits your schedule.
Forward this to someone who thinks voter ID sounds reasonable. They should hear the argument, not the slogan!
**Tuesday sessions in September.**
**- Tues, 9/15, Prop 4, Prop 5 and Prop 39 **
– Tues 9/22, TBD
– Tues 9/29, TBD
**Register now for all of them.**