The Daily Signal How California Can Impose the ‘Strictest Voter ID Laws’ in the US | Elaine Culotti & Carl Demaio
Jan 28, 2026
Carl DeMaio, California political activist and former state assembly member leading Reform California, discusses grassroots campaigns for stricter voter ID and Save Prop 13. He describes petition drives, signature strategy, aiming for the nation’s toughest voter ID rules, and the need for a state constitutional fix to challenge California’s political establishment.
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Corruption Drives California's Failures
- Carl DeMaio argues California's policy failures are symptoms of a deeper political corruption problem.
- He says the state's political system is fundamentally corrupt and explains many issues trace back to that core failure.
Overcollect Signatures To Beat Scrutiny
- Collect far more petition signatures than needed because opponents will scrutinize and try to disqualify them.
- Build redundancy (e.g., 200,000 extra signatures) to overwhelm expected challenges from Democrats.
Voter ID As Voter Verification
- The voter ID initiative also includes voter verification and citizenship checks, not just ID checks at polls.
- DeMaio calls it a game changer that cleans voter rolls and audits eligibility to restore trust.