Democrats in Sacramento have sought to ease voting requirements to the maximum extent possible. The result? Even pets have managed to cast ballots -- or at least their owners have on their behalf.
A woman from Costa Mesa, Calif., was charged last fall with illegally registering her dog, Maya, to vote and submitting ballots on the canine's behalf. "The dog's vote was successfully counted in the 2021 gubernatorial recall election but was rejected in the 2022 primary," the Orange County District Attorney's Office said.
An ID isn't required to register or vote in California elections in which federal offices aren't contested, such as the 2021 gubernatorial recall. An ID also isn't required to register in federal elections. Californians who don't provide an ID when they register must present documentation when they vote in a federal election for the first time. But acceptable forms of ID include a drug prescription, a gym card and even a sample ballot sent to the registrant's home. California law says its voter-ID rules "shall be liberally construed to permit voters and new registrants to cast a regular ballot." If a voter's eligibility is in doubt, local officials aren't allowed to throw a ballot out.
Local election officials also aren't required to verify that a voter is a citizen or even exists. The Orange County district attorney notes that the defendant posted on social media in October 2024 "a photograph of Maya's dog tag and a vote-by-mail ballot with the caption 'maya is still getting her ballot' even though the dog had previously passed away." The canine fraud was discovered only because the woman reported herself to the county registrar.
Some localities in California have sought to impose stricter ID requirements, but the Legislature in 2024 passed legislation pre-empting them. California's loosey-goosey voting rules practically invite fraud, much like its generous welfare programs and transfer payments.
During the pandemic, the state paid an estimated $30 billion in fraudulent unemployment claims, including to state prisoners and criminals who used patently false identities like then-Sen. Dianne Feinstein and "Mr. Poopy Pants." The number of hospice companies in Los Angeles County has increased by 1,500% since 2010, with 89 registered in a single building. Yet such flagrant signs of fraud didn't raise alarms with state officials, who are in charge of regulating hospices.
Voter fraud in California may not be prevalent, but it's surely more common than in most places. The potential for fraud in California is compounded by laws that let people register on Election Day and cast provisional ballots. Third parties are also permitted to turn in ballots, which are mailed to every registered voter.
A reader in Los Angeles sent me a photo of two ballots he received for last November's special election on a referendum to redraw the state's House map. How many other Californians received more than one ballot? Who knows, and do Democrats care?
Their goal is to make it easier for union and left-wing groups to turn out low-propensity Democratic voters. Unions often conduct voter-registration and ballot drives at work sites that employ large numbers of noncitizens, including farms, hotels and healthcare facilities. Are they asking employees whether they are citizens before helping them register and vote?
Probably not. Union opposition to a proposed ballot initiative that would require election officials to verify voters' citizenship is telling. The initiative -- which backers say has enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot -- would also require voters to present a government ID at the polls or the last four digits of a government ID when voting by mail.
Such requirements are much less onerous than President Trump's SAVE Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register and a photo ID to vote. Even liberal Californians support ballot-integrity rules in principle. A Berkeley-IGS poll last May found that 71% of voters, including 59% of Democrats, support requiring proof of citizenship when registering to vote for first time.
Yet Democrats are seeking to undermine the ballot initiative with legislation that would allow voters to challenge election rules by alleging that they result in vote suppression. They hope state courts will keep the stricter voting rules off the ballot, which is what happened to a citizen initiative in 2024 that sought to make it harder to raise state and local taxes.
California's direct democracy originated during the early 20th century's Progressive Era to allow citizens to bypass the Legislature and enact reforms. But Democrats have effectively rigged the rules -- e.g., limiting initiatives to general elections, when Democratic turnout is typically higher -- to entrench one-party rule.
Watch out. If they win complete control of Washington, they'll try to impose California-style lax election rules nationwide with the goal of cementing their power.