Airbnb Co-Founder Joe Gebbia Drops $8M Into California Voter ID Fight as Newsom Mobilizes Opposition
Airbnb co-founder and Trump White House official Joe Gebbia emerged Wednesday as one of the biggest financial backers of California’s Proposition 39 after contributing $8 million to the voter identification campaign, delivering a major financial boost to supporters of the measure ahead of November’s election.
Supporters of Proposition 39 have promoted the proposed constitutional amendment as a bipartisan solution to strengthening election security and public confidence. In their official ballot argument, proponents emphasized support across party lines.
“Democratic, Independent, and Republican voters all agree on one thing: Voter ID is a common-sense reform to increase trust and participation in our elections.”
Gebbia, who serves as the White House’s chief design officer, joins billionaire Republican donor Richard Uihlein, who has contributed $17 million to the campaign. Together with other major contributors, including Steven Bray and the Winklevoss brothers, supporters have raised more than $36 million.
Under the official Proposition 39 proposal, voters casting ballots in person would be required to present government-issued identification, while those voting by mail would need to provide the last four digits of a designated government-issued identification number on their return envelopes. The measure also provides for free state-issued voter ID cards.
California currently does not generally require identification at polling places, although identification may be required for certain first-time federal voters. According to the, 36 states request or require some form of voter identification at the polls.
Opposition groups, including the ACLU, Common Cause and League of Women Voters of California, contend that the measure could prevent eligible voters from casting ballots. The state’s nonpartisan fiscal analysis estimates annual implementation costs ranging from tens of millions to the low hundreds of millions of dollars.
Opponents have also raised concerns about potentially rejecting valid mail ballots. No on 39 spokesperson Tenoch Flores addressed those concerns in comments to CalMatters.
“This is about creating new avenues to reject valid mail ballots,” Flores said.
A September Public Policy Institute of California survey found 43% of likely voters supporting Proposition 39 and 55% opposing it, despite broader support for voter identification requirements in previous polling.
