California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office revised the official title and summary of a 2026 statewide ballot initiative on voter identification and citizenship verification. The updated language describes the measure as one that “prohibits citizens from voting unless they present government-issued identification,” replacing an earlier version that referred to establishing additional requirements. A post on X highlighting the change has drawn significant online attention and critical reactions from users.
In the clip, a Fox News segment narrated by correspondent William La Jeunesse examines the change to California’s Proposition 39 ballot language. The reporter states that supporters are “considering a lawsuit against the state’s Democratic Attorney General” and that “they say Rob Bonta has rewritten a ballot description for a voter ID initiative in a way designed to sway voters.”
He notes, “More than a million Californians signed petitions putting voter ID on the ballot, but what voters see and what they signed are different.” It continues: “Tuesday, the Attorney General changed it to prohibit citizens from voting unless they present government-issued identification.”
Later, the narrator explains: “The original summary said it requires voters to present government-issued ID at the polls or the last four digits of a government-issued ID number when voting by mail. The new language says it prohibits voting by mail without a government ID, invalidates mail ballots if the envelope doesn’t include the last four of that ID, and prohibits voting in person without a government ID.”
The poster describes it as an effort to sway voters and mentions a potential lawsuit. The video itself does not include any direct statements from Bonta or his office responding to the change.
Public Comments on the California Initiative Title Revision
Some users called the revision cheating, with one writing, “That’s not spin. That’s cheating. Restore the original language. Prosecute him.”
Others echoed demands for accountability, including comments such as “Arrest the SOB” and “Can we just at least get rid of @AGRobBonta? This is criminal, and he wants to cheat us.”
Several focused on broader patterns, with remarks like “Democrats have to cheat to win, and they know it” and “They pull this *expletive* all the time. They confuse voters intentionally when they know an initiative will pass.”
A smaller number questioned the framing, with one user writing, “It’s not inaccurate, so what ‘rigging’ is going on?”
The discussion around the revised ballot language continues as Proposition 39 moves toward the November 2026 election.
