Text of Article II, Section 3.1.

Section 3.1 [To be added to article II of constitution.]

(a) [1]The Secretary of State, and county elections officials, [i]shall each have the duty to maintain accurate voter registration lists, [ii]shall use best efforts to verify citizenship attestations using government data, and [iii]shall annually report what percentage of each county's voter rolls have been citizenship-verified.

(b) [1]Each time a voter casts a ballot in person in any election in the State, the voter shall present government-issued identification, or if voting by mail, the voter shall provide the last four digits of a unique identifying number from government-issued identification that matches the one designated by the voter for their voter registration. [2]The type of identification designated by each voter must be indicated in their voter registration record, noted on the mail ballot envelope provided to them, and available to them on request by phone or electronically. [3]Election officials shall only count a regular or provisional ballot after verifying the identity of the person voting pursuant to the requirements of this section, and verifying that the person has cast only one ballot in the election. [4]Government-issued identification means documentation that allows conclusive verification of the voter's identity. [5]Upon request by an eligible voter, the state shall provide, at no charge, a voter ID card for use in casting a ballot.

(c) [1]This section shall be self-executing. [2]The Legislature shall also promptly enact laws to implement this section, provide for voting by military and overseas voters consistent with federal law, and ensure that all State and local officials comply and support the compliance with this section. [3]Citizens may seek judicial review and remedy of the State's or any county's compliance with this section. [4]During every odd-numbered year, the State Auditor shall audit the State's and each county's compliance with this section and report its findings and recommendations for improving the integrity of elections to the public.

Editor's Note:

The above is the full text of the proposed amendment. We have added numbers, e.g., [1], at the beginning of each sentence for easy reference.

Sty;e Sheet

Friday, October 3, 2025

Does Initiative 25-0007A1 implement voter roll clean-up?

Does Initiative 25-0007A1 implement voter roll clean-up?

Article Series

  1. Does Initiative 25-0007A1 implement voter identification?
  2. Does Initiative 25-0007A1 implement citizenship verification?
  3. Does Initiative 25-0007A1 implement voter roll clean-up?

What parts of the text pertain to voter roll clean-up?

The only reference to voter roll clean-up in the proposed amendment is (a)[1][i]. The subjects are the Secretary of State and county elections officials.

It's possible that (c)[4] relates to voter roll clean-up because it requires the State Auditor to "audit" and "report" on "compliance with this section".

The duty imposed by (a)[1][i] is "to maintain accurate voter registration lists." The subjects already have that duty by accepting federal bribes under existing congressional acts. They also already have that duty under the Elections Code.

A Word About Self-Executing

Fundamentally, self-executing refers to a constitutional provision that does not require another law, like a statute, to implement.

In (c)[1], it states that the entire section is self-executing. If it were, the statement would be superfluous. If it weren't, the statement cannot make it so. Its existence signals that it's not.

For comparison, Proposition 7 (1911) was almost completely self-executing. You can see the current versions of the self-executing provisions for initiatives and referenda in Article II, section 8, section 9, and section 10. Even so, over time, however, the Legislature has found it necessary to enact statutes to implement some of the procedures.

Are Any Voter Roll Clean-Up Provisions Self-Executing?

Self-evidently, the answer is no.

In fact (a)[1][i] does nothing. Existing law already covers it.

The reason why the voter rolls are such a mess is due to the way existing law is implemented. The mess will continue.

As for (c)[4], it lacks any kind of direction to the State Auditor. Which parts of the section are to be audited? What does compliance mean? What is the period to be covered by the audit? When is the audit to be completed? What auditing standards should be used? Or more fundamentally, do any auditing standards exist? If the auditor has to figure it all out, then the auditor can do anything it wishes and call it compliance with the section. But who makes sure the auditor complies? Can the auditor be sued? Who has standing? It's just a rat's nest of questions without answers.

Conclusion

The section will have no effect on voter roll clean-up.

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Copyright 2025, Richard Michael. All rights reserved.

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Does Initiative 25-0007A1 implement voter roll clean-up?

Does Initiative 25-0007A1 implement voter roll clean-up? Article Series Does Initiative 25-0007A1 implement voter identification? Doe...