SENATE PRO TEM LIMÓN, SPEAKER RIVAS DECRY YES ON PROP 45 CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION TO TRUMP-ALIGNED...

Funds Will Help Effort to Restrict Voting Rights in California

SACRAMENTO – Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas and State Senate President pro Tempore Monique Limón today released a joint statement decrying the six-figure contribution from the Yes on Proposition 45 Committee to Reform California, the Trump aligned political action committee led by Assemblymember Carl DeMaio (R-San Diego), the lead proponent of the measure on the ballot to restrict voting rights of Californians, Proposition 39.

First reported in POLITICO this morning, the legislative leaders said: “If there was any doubt after the proponents behind Prop 45 made the largest contribution to the California Republican Party this year, their $100,000 contribution to Carl DeMaio’s Reform California committee answers it. They’re aligned with Trump and DeMaio in the effort to deny Californians the right to vote.”

The Yes on 45 Committee’s disclosure comes on the heels of a $725,000 donation by the campaign to the California Republican Party last week. California Democratic Party chair Rusty Hicks condemned that donation, saying: “the Yes on 45 campaign just handed $725,000 to CAGOP — one of their largest contributions of the cycle. It’s unfortunate because CAGOP will likely just waste it on trying to pass Trump-backed Prop 39 in hopes of making it harder to vote in California. Luckily, California Republicans have been on a decades-long losing streak — one that is sure to continue on November 3rd.”

Proposition 45 is the California Chamber of Commerce’s 41-page ballot initiative that would roll back state environmental protections and weaken the state’s defense against President Trump’s attack on state clean air, water, and public health laws. It is opposed by the California Democratic Party, California Professional Firefighters, American Lung Association and 400+ other environmental, health and public safety groups.

Proposition 39 would require voters to show government-issued identification at the polls and order election officials to verify that all registered voters are U.S. citizens. Opponents warn it would make voting harder, put voters' personal information at risk, cost taxpayers hundreds of millions, and delay election results. It is also opposed by the California Democratic Party, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra, Senator Alex Padilla and a broad-based coalition.

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