Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings and his wife, Patty Quillin, have committed millions of dollars to defeating a California ballot measure that would require voters to present government-issued identification at the polls, according to reporting from the New York Post.
Hastings wrote a $1 million check earlier this month, while Quillin contributed $1.5 million on August 31 to oppose Proposition 39. The measure will go before California voters in November.
What the measure would do
Under Proposition 39, in-person voters would be required to show a valid photo ID at their polling place. Californians casting mail-in ballots would need to write the last four digits of their identification number on the return envelope.
Backers describe the proposal as a straightforward safeguard against election fraud and a way to shore up confidence in a state that has become known for taking weeks to finish counting ballots. California’s lengthy vote-counting timeline and recent federal scrutiny of signature-gathering practices have kept the state’s election administration in the national spotlight.
Hastings and Quillin’s money goes to competing coalitions
The couple’s contributions are not flowing to a single operation. Hastings directed his $1 million to a “No on 39” committee that is backed by labor and health groups. That committee also received $2 million from the Los Angeles-based California Community Foundation.
Quillin’s $1.5 million went to a separate anti-Prop 39 coalition affiliated with the American Civil Liberties Union.
This is not Hastings’ first foray into California political spending. He previously contributed $3 million to help Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom fend off a 2021 recall attempt.
New poll shows the measure trailing
A Public Policy Institute of California poll released as the spending fight intensifies shows Proposition 39 behind, with 55% of likely voters opposed and 43% in favor.
The numbers reveal a sharp partisan divide. Among Republicans, 85% support the ballot measure, while just 19% of Democrats do. Support is concentrated among voters over 55 and residents of the Central Valley and Inland Empire, according to the PPIC survey.
Supporters accuse attorney general of skewing ballot title
Proponents of the measure have accused California Attorney General Rob Bonta of deliberately tilting the official ballot title to discourage support. Assemblymember Carl DeMaio (R-San Diego) argued that Bonta is trying to rig the outcome because he cannot beat the measure on its merits.
“Rob Bonta knows that Prop 39 is likely to pass because it is a bipartisan solution to Voter ID and is supported by a supermajority of Democratic, independent, and Republican voters,” DeMaio said. “Knowing he can’t defeat our bipartisan solution to Voter ID in a fair election, he has decided to rig the vote against Prop 39 with a false title claiming it prohibits citizens from voting!”
Federal official flagged mail-in voting concerns
The debate over Proposition 39 comes after First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli warned in June that California’s loose mail-in voting rules create structural vulnerabilities where fraud can go undetected. His comments added to existing Republican concerns about the state’s election integrity procedures, though Democratic officials have consistently defended California’s voting systems as secure.
With the November election approaching, the influx of cash from Hastings and Quillin signals that both sides expect a close and expensive fight over the measure. The PPIC poll suggests opponents currently hold the advantage, but the partisan gap and the measure’s strong backing among older voters and inland regions leave room for the race to tighten.
Source: www.dailywire.com — https://www.dailywire.com/news/netflix-co-founder-wife-invest-millions-to-block-voter-id-push