Voter ID Wins in Nevada, North Carolina, & Ohio as Blue Wave Claims Arizona, California, & Colorado

Election integrity batted .500 in an otherwise bleak election night.

The cause of election integrity won a split decision Tuesday, even as the party that largely opposes it swept both houses of Congress. Voters in Nevada, North Carolina, and Ohio locked photo ID into their constitutions, while a Democratic midterm surge buried measures in Arizona and California.

As Restoration News reported, the five states that voted strictly for citizen-only voting passed those measures with flying colors. But denying noncitizens the right to vote does not guarantee that none ever will. Passing election laws that ensure only citizens can register and cast a ballot remains a lofty, elusive goal for many a state controlled by Democrats—a party that religiously opposes any effort to make elections more transparent or trustworthy.

This election offered the biggest opportunity voters have had yet to pass good election laws that would both limit the possibility of voter fraud and boost confidence among the electorate. Even dark-blue California placed an election security measure on its ballot that included a photo ID requirement to vote.

Alas, the blue tsunami that erupted did not allow these measures to pass everywhere conservatives tried them. Where they succeeded and the tight margins where they failed, however, prove that the Right is making real progress in the cause of election integrity.

Voters Lock in Photo ID in Three States

Nevada voters gave final approval to Question 7, the second of two consecutive votes required to amend the state constitution. It passed with roughly 62 percent, down from 73 percent in 2024 but more than enough to become state law. The amendment requires photo ID for in-person voting and a driver’s license number, Social Security number, or county clerk-issued number for mail-in ballots. Nevada has long relied on signature matching alone. Now the requirement sits in the constitution, where no future legislature can quietly undo it.

North Carolina’s Require Voter Identification Amendment passed with about 60 percent. Voters there approved photo ID for in-person voting in 2018. The new amendment extends it to absentee and mail-in ballots, putting every voter under one constitutional standard.

Ohio’s Issue 3 passed with about 66 percent. The state has required photo ID at the polls by statute since 2023, which meant a future legislature or court could erase it. Issue 3 writes the rule into the constitution, with an exception for sincere religious objections.

These three states join Oklahoma, where voters did the same earlier this year, locking in their existing voter ID law. Polling has long shown majority support for photo ID across party lines, and Tuesday proved that support survives a bad night for Republicans.

What is noteworthy is that in each of these states, Democrats won big. In Nevada, Democrats won every statewide race. In North Carolina, Democrat Roy Cooper won the U.S. Senate race by nearly 20 points; in Ohio, former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) won his seat back by five. Yet voters proved that despite their willingness to back individual Democrats, they remain opposed to the Democratic Party's position on voter ID.

Blue Wave Swamps Arizona, California, and Colorado

Arizona’s Proposition 144 was the most ambitious measure on any ballot. It would have required government-issued ID for every ballot, declared that only citizens may register and vote, barred foreign nationals from funding state elections, and guaranteed mail-in ballot tabulation at the polling place. The courts allowed Secretary of State Adrian Fontes (D) to keep a deceptive description of the measure, which had the potential to confuse voters and turn would-be supporters against it—a common sleazy tactic of Democrat Secretaries of State. This added to the headwinds the measure faced in a liberal-wave year. Despite a likely failure to pass, it had 46.8 percent of the vote, with 86 percent reporting, as of November 5. This shows how powerful this issue is.

California’s Proposition 39 was always a long shot in the nation’s largest mail-ballot state. It would have required a government-issued ID for in-person voting, the last four digits of a similar ID number on mail-in ballot envelopes, and citizenship verification using government data. Qualifying it for the ballot in deep-blue California was itself a win. It forced a public debate and proved the signature threshold can be cleared. With nearly two-thirds of ballots counted, as of November 5, it trailed by around 18 percentage points.

Colorado’s Amendment 84, which would have required an ID number in addition to the signature on the mail-in ballots, faced an even stronger challenge than California's, as the state votes almost entirely by mail. It drew roughly 37 percent.

Majorities of Americans, including large shares of Democrats, support photo ID and citizen-only voting, according to multiple surveys, including by the Pew Research Center. The strong showing these referenda had in an otherwise terrible election for conservatives demonstrates the bipartisan support that election security measures receive.

Proposition 144 supporters should try the same thing in two years. Had this year not been a Democratic wave election, it would likely have passed easily.

California and Colorado are slightly different cases, both because they are much bluer than Arizona and because their residents mostly vote by mail. Once voters accustom themselves to voting from their couch, it can be difficult to convince them to add any extra steps. In both, their respective ballot measures would likely have stood no chance. There, conservatives will have to put in the extra work to change hearts and minds before expecting change in voting habits or election laws.

This year's midterm elections were a massive disappointment for election integrity, as Democrats who oppose efforts to bolster it won up and down the ballot everywhere. Where voters had the chance to exercise direct democracy on the question of citizen-only voting, however, they came through. On voter ID, as well, even in states where they repudiated Republicans, huge swaths of voters essentially split their tickets and voted for requiring photo ID to vote.

Conservatives have made huge strides in the past half-decade to improve election laws and boost transparency. Dozens of states have tightened registration requirements and forced voters to show a valid, government-issued photo ID to prove they are who they claim. Some battles have been lost along the way, but this is a war the Right will win, as it's a winning issue that draws overwhelming bipartisan support.

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