People all around the world are complaining about gas prices right now, but across the entire U.S., there’s only one county that has it worse than Humboldt.

The average price for a gallon of gas in Humboldt is $5.806, just a little less than Mono County, where gas is going for $5.947, according to data from the American Automobile Association. Humboldt and Mono counties are currently the most expensive counties for gasoline in the whole country. The average price nationwide is $3.539; statewide, it’s $5.290. 

Good thing the average commute here is less than 19 minutes long.

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“I apologize if I acted like an A-hole,” Rex Bohn said into his microphone late this morning.

This mea culpa came among a variety of remorseful statements (some more qualified than others) offered up by the First District supervisor at today’s meeting of the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors. “I’m ready to take my lumps,” he said at another point.

Bohn was addressing the results of a third-party investigation into allegations that he’d been abusive and hostile toward staff during a meeting last June. The allegations were sustained after witnesses agreed that Bohn “acted in a disrespectful and aggressive manner toward County employees, which included the use of profanity.”

At the end of an occasionally tense 30-minute discussion on the matter, the board opted not to censure Bohn (a formal expression of disapproval), though a majority of supervisors criticized his behavior, and Third District Supervisor Mike Wilson took particular issue with Bohn for quibbling about the results of the investigation after refusing to participate in it.

Bohn began his remarks by noting that seven months have passed since the incident in question, and while he doesn’t necessarily remember all of the details, he disputes the conclusion that he scheduled the meeting in order to pressure staff into doing a favor for a friend of his.

The ad hoc meeting, which included Bohn, Fifth District Supervisor Steve Madrone and staff from the county’s Environmental Health division, was scheduled by staff, Bohn said, and this so-called “friend” was more of an acquaintance who he hadn’t spoken with for more than 20 years, until shortly before the meeting. 

The June 24 gathering concerned the county’s draft Tobacco Retailer Licensing (TRL) ordinance, and the complaint alleged that Bohn’s friend/acquaintance was in the process of selling 30 or more Chevron gas stations in Northern California. This person was convinced that the new ordinance would “cost him to lose his tobacco sale license for 3 stations in Humboldt County,” the complaint said.

Bohn said this morning that he wasn’t just lobbying on this one person’s behalf. 

“My intention was to represent the perspectives I was hearing from members of the community,” he said. “Having lived in this area for 71 years, I have many longstanding relationships, and I take seriously my responsibility to listen when people reach out with concerns.”

He said he feels strongly about this particular topic since he was raised in a corner grocery store.

Reading from prepared remarks, Bohn added, “However, I sincerely regret if my tone [or] delivery caused anyone to feel uncomfortable or disrespected. I do apologize for that. …I apologize if anything I said or how I said it caused concern or hurt feelings.”

After a beat, he continued off-script. 

“So I can’t deny [that] I did it. This is my second complaint in 14 years. The other one, [I] was fully exonerated. This one, I didn’t participate in [the investigation] because … I just didn’t,” he said. “Again, I apologize to staff.”

Madrone thanked his colleague for “the heartfelt apology.”

Fourth District Supervisor Natalie Arroyo said this incident may be part of a larger issue. She relayed comments from an unidentified consultant who once told her that some county department heads were scared of the supervisors, with particular concerns about how employees might be treated in small group meetings.

“I don’t want to have that kind of culture within the county,” Arroyo said. She called Bohn’s apology “a step in the right direction” and urged her fellow supervisors to be conscious of the power imbalance between them and county employees.

During a public comment period, former Humboldt County planning commissioner Thomas Mulder suggested that the county needs a better process for handling such complaints, given that this investigation cost more than $15,000.

Another commenter questioned why this complaint took so long to be addressed publicly. Human Resources Director Zach O’Hanen explained that the delay was caused in part by the board’s November request to have its Code of Conduct and Ethics reviewed by the Civil Grand Jury. (Second District Supervisor Michelle Bushnell pushed for that referral late last year after disagreeing with the results of an investigation into her own alleged misconduct.)

“We considered that [referral] to sort of be putting a halt on the process,” O’Hanen said, “and so that’s why this one didn’t move forward as quickly as it [otherwise] would have.”

Wilson, who is serving as board chair this year, said Bohn should have participated in the investigation rather than complaining of inaccuracies after the fact, and he suggested apologize for hurting people’s feelings is insufficient when the underlying issue is the more serious matter of employee intimidation.

Bohn defended and reiterated his apology. “I knew that whatever apology I did was going to get picked apart, and I appreciate that,” he said, adding, “I am very sorry.”

To censure or not to censure?

The board’s decision on whether or not to publicly censure Bohn had a couple of interesting dynamics at play. Misconduct complaints involving county employees are generally handled by the Human Resources Director, who can assign disciplinary measures or corrective action. County supervisors, however, have no superiors in the organizational chart. As such, they’re responsible for policing their own behavior. 

The existing Code of Conduct and Ethics says that when an investigation sustains finding of supervisor misconduct, “Board action is limited to public censure, and such action shall require the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the Board members present and voting.”

But who gets to vote? Does the subject of an investigation have to recuse themself? Bohn certainly didn’t do so today. In fact, after Bushnell made a motion to receive and file the report, rather than to censure Bohn, Bohn himself seconded the motion. [The Outpost emailed county staff to ask whether Bohn should have recused himself, as Bushnell did in November. We have yet to hear back.]

Bushnell, meanwhile, announced at last week’s meeting that she will never censure one of her colleagues. Her own public reprimand in November proved to be a difficult and emotional ordeal, and despite the fact that county policy explicitly gives supervisors the authority to censure one of their own, Bushnell said last week, “It’s not my place. … I am not your judge and jury. Your constituents are.”

With all five supervisors participating, it would have taken a four-fifths vote to censure Bohn. That clearly wasn’t going to happen, so the board opted to simply receive and file the report without objection.

Tobacco Retailer Licensing Ordinance approved

At last week’s meeting, the board split 3-2, with Bohn and Bushnell dissenting, on a final draft of the county’s new Tobacco Retail Licensing Ordinance. Bohn’s objection, as mentioned above, centered largely around a provision prohibiting license transfers to new owners under certain conditions.

The vote for final approval of the ordinance broke down along the same lines today. The ordinance, which you can download by clicking here, applies only to retailers in the county’s unincorporated areas. It prohibits the sale of flavored vapes and tobacco products and formalizes an administrative review process for proposed license denials, suspensions or revocations.

Airport business takes off

Early in today’s meeting, the board received a very sunny report about the growing economic impacts of the California Redwood Coast-Humboldt County Airport, otherwise known as ACV or “The Arcata-Eureka Airport.”

Jack Penning, a managing partner with the consulting firm Volaire Aviation Inc., began by saying, “This is very, very positive,” and indeed it was.

The number of seats available on flights into and out of ACV has grown by 38% over the past year and will soon grow even more thanks to the addition of daily flights to Seattle from Alaska Airlines (starting April 8) and flights to both Las Vegas and Provo, Utah (starting tomorrow).

“The significant increase in seats is a little scary, because we’ve got to fill them,” Penning said. “But our demand in this market is strong enough that these airlines believed, when we delivered the business case, with the help of the county with the community, that they could support the service that we’re going to see.”

He showed a map indicating that local residents will soon be able to fly to 239 different cities across the globe with only one layover. 

“This is the best connectivity our community has ever had by very, very wide margin,” Penning said.

Currently, an average of nearly 400 people get on planes at ACV each day and that number is projected to jump to nearly 600 with the addition of new routes. 

“That’s incredible,” Penning said. “With an airport of our size, we’re up 80% from 2019, the baseline before the pandemic — 80% growth. That’s huge. That does not happen. We’re one of the fastest-growing small community airports in the country.”

There is still a fairly high number of local residents who will drive to San Francisco or Santa Rosa rather than leaving out of ACV, but Penning described that as a growth opportunity. He also noted than roughly 135,000 people arrive at ACV as tourists each year, spending a collective $51 million. 

Penning also said that the airport generates almost $12 million in federal tax revenue every single year and $5.6 million in state taxes while employing 121 people (soon to be 150). 

Hanging over this discussion was the fact that the county’s latest aviation director, Justin Hopman, just resigned after less that two months on the job. But Hopman indicated that he made the decision for family reasons, and Penning said there’s every reason for optimism.

You can download the full economic impact study by clicking here.

Audit findings

Mychal Evenson, the county’s interim auditor-controller, presented the audit reports and financial statements for Fiscal Year 2023-24. He explained that the financial statements audit, which his office performs, looks at the county’s internal fiscal controls, including documentation of financial transactions. The single audit, meanwhile, concerns program-level compliance with federal laws, rules and regulations. It’s performed by the outside firm CliftonLarsonAllen. 

These two audits had five “findings” for this fiscal year, which is bad news. A “finding,” in this context, means either a weaknesses in internal controls or an instance of noncompliance with rules and regulations.

However, CliftonLarsonAllen partner Brianne Weiss, who called in to the meeting via Zoom, said the financial statements were unmodified, which is a “clean opinion” or passing grade. And while findings are never good, Weiss said the “scope and scale” of the ones in Humboldt County’s audits have decreased over time, and she expects that trend to continue.

A finding in the county’s financial statement audit arose due to delayed reporting from the Fortuna Fire Protection District, which contracts with the county for such services, Evenson explained. One of the findings in the single audit likely stemmed from staff turnover in the county’s Airport Improvement Program, Weiss said.

The supervisors weren’t too concerned about these results. Bushnell told Evenson, “I hear continuously [about] how efficient the Auditor-Controller’s Office is becoming, so I just appreciate that.”

Bohn noted how far behind the county had gotten on its fiscal reporting five or six years ago and said that both Evenson and his predecessor, Cheryl Dillingham, “have the respect of … all the people we do business with, especially vendors, especially our government partners.”

The board unanimously agreed to receive and file the report on these audits.

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CORRECTION: This post initially misspelled Jack Penning’s last name. The Outpost regrets the error. 

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If you live in one of Eureka’s picturesque Victorians, there’s a good chance Eddie Serna has reimagined it in miniature.

For the better part of 30 years, the 85-year-old Eureka resident has spent countless hours recreating the steep gabled roofs, intricate gingerbread cutouts, ornate spindles and scalloped siding that define Victoria-era architecture — all on a tiny scale. Each Victorian façade, measuring at about two feet tall, is a replica of a real house in Eureka.

Serna poses with his models at the Humboldt County Library. | Photo via Facebook.

When he first took up the craft, Serna made each Victorian entirely by hand, painstakingly carving, sanding and painting Chicklet-sized shingles and itty-bitty adornments. These days, he’s able to buy the shingles, siding and other structural components online, but the rest is custom-made.

“It’s taught me patience,” Serna laughed. “When I first started, a few of my houses came out crooked but I learned and got the right tools. I tell everybody, my main tools aren’t my saw and sanders and drills — it’s my combination square and compass. I’ve learned that to make things correct, you got to keep things in square. … Now, I can get parts online, which is easier and cheaper for me, and the houses look exactly the same as the real house. Each one is unique.”

Growing up in a family of skilled masons in the Silicon Valley, Serna was familiar with the technicolor Victorians of San Francisco, but it wasn’t until the mid-1980s that he began to truly appreciate the architectural style. At the time, he was living with his ailing sister Antoinette, known to him as Toni, who had a copy of “Painted Ladies: San Francisco’s Resplendent Victorians.”

“[Toni] was passing away from diabetes, so I was living with her and her family,” Serna recalled. “I was in the living room when I noticed these books about Victorian houses called ‘Painted Ladies’… and I started looking at the pictures and I was just amazed. … I found this quote written by her [on the front page] of one of the books — ‘I love these old Victorians’ — and it hit me! I started making them right there.”

Serna started with some of the Victorians he had seen in Toni’s book, opting to make façades rather than full-blown replicas because he couldn’t see the sides of the house in the the pictures. “It’s amazing that I somehow did it just from a picture in a book,” he said.

He gave his first few models to family members, and kept several others to tinker with and practice new design elements. Unfortunately, his sister Toni didn’t live to see any of his miniature homes, but each one is recreated in her memory.

Serna made his way up to Humboldt County in an old army bus in the early ’90s. He was soon introduced to master craftsman Eric Hollenbeck and started working at the Blue Ox Millworks, where he honed his woodworking skills and went back to school. After he was attacked in front of his house in Eureka, he decided to move back to the Silicon Valley and pursue a career as a truck driver. He returned to Humboldt after he retired about 13 years ago, and he’s been making miniatures ever since. 

Asked about his process and how he selects the homes he wants to recreate, Serna said he walks through Eureka’s neighborhoods and takes pictures of houses he finds interesting, especially those that appear to be on their last legs.

“I want to take pictures of these old house before they fall apart or burn,” he said. “I’m taking pictures of those first because I want to save them by making a model of them. When I’m done with those, I’ll take pictures of the million dollar ones and the $20 million ones. … People ask if  I’ll make the Carson Mansion or the Carter House or another famous house, and I say ‘No, no, no, no.’ Why not make the ones that are kind of shabby?”

That said, Serna has made models of some of Eureka’s most pristine houses, including the ornate Victorian at 933 I Street, which is among my personal favorites. That miniature — and about a dozen others — is currently on display at the Clarke Museum in Old Town. 

The folks at the Clarke Museum adore Serna. 

“He is a sweetheart,” said Dana Fredsti, the museum’s marketing and events coordinator. “He’s just so enthusiastic about [his models], and his enthusiasm is contagious. When we first saw them, we were like, ‘Gosh, wouldn’t it be cool of our house could be made into one of them?’ And we got to know him, and he ended up doing a model of our house! Personally, it has brought us a tremendous amount of joy to see that.”

Executive Director Shawn Wagner said Serna was one of the first people she met when she took the helm of the Clarke Museum last year. She was familiar with his Victorian models, but she had never met their creator.

“When we met, he walked me through every single model, telling me what type of pieces he used, how long it took, how he was able to do this and why he chose this or that house,” Wagner said. “[His models] have become such a pivotal part of the museum, and it’s so Eureka.”

The museum’s staff have worked with Serna to track down the addresses for his models, but there are a few that have yet to be identified.

Serna has several models in progress, but the rising cost of materials has stretched his fixed income. His therapist, Angelina Torres, helped him set up a GoFundMe to help pay for his supplies and update some of his machinery. 

“When I first learned that Eddie was recreating these Victorians on his own — even while living on a fixed income — I was amazed and impressed,” Torres said. “That drove my own passion to help him because I believe we live in a wonderful community, and if other community members knew of his story, that would also inspire others to help him by donating.”

“Eddie is an extraordinary individual, and his journey has been one filled with challenges and setbacks, yet through it all, he’s found a way to channel his experiences and struggles into his creations,” she continued. “I see his work not just as a personal triumph, but as a way for him to share his healing journey with the world. … This campaign isn’t just about supporting an artist; it’s about helping him continue to create the kind of art that heals, that transforms, and that uplifts, art that speaks to those of us who need it most.”

Those interested in donating to Serna’s GoFundMe can do so at this link. His miniatures are on display at the Clarke Museum and in the Humboldt Room of the Humboldt County Library.

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PREVIOUSLY

• ALLEGED ASSHOLE IN CUFFS! 31-Year-Old Oklahoma Resident Arrested on Multiple Felony Counts for Making ‘Terrorist Threats’ to Local Schools
• Officers Recount Threatening Phone Calls to Schools During Preliminary Hearing in Trial of Daryl Jones
• We’ll Have to Wait Until October to Finish the Prelim Hearing for Man Charged With Threatening Schools, Businesses
• In Daryl Jones Prelim Hearing, Cops Recount Graphic Threats to Harm and Kill Children at Local Schools
• Daryl Jones’s Middle School Girlfriend Testifies that He Harassed and Repeatedly Threatened to Kill Her in the Years Before His Arrest

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A judge upheld more than 30 of the counts against Daryl Ray Jones today, the man accused of threatening to kill, rape, and mutilate people during dozens of phone calls made to local businesses and schools last year. 

The closing arguments during Jones’ preliminary hearing were held this morning. Defense attorney Meagan O’Connell attempted to convince judge Timothy Canning that Jones shouldn’t be “held to answer” for about two-thirds of the 35 counts of attempting or making criminal threats he’s been charged with. O’Connell argued that many of the phone calls didn’t scare the victim to the level of “sustained fear,” or that elements of the calls didn’t count as threats because they were questions or vague.

O’Connell claimed that because several of the witnesses who testified during previous sessions of the preliminary hearing didn’t explicitly say that the calls scared them, those counts should be tossed out. One victim said she was “concerned;” O’Connell argued that meant she didn’t meet the standard, as she did for someone who said they were “shook up.” Jones allegedly called several schools and threatened to commit mass murder, and they entered a school shooter lockdown. O’Connell suggested the staff and students weren’t afraid, necessarily; they were simply following procedure. 

Counts based on evidence like the caller asking victims questions, like “What would you do if I came over and beat your ass?”, texting one victim their name, their partner’s name, and their home address, and saying to one, “What up, bitch? Look outside, you know who it is,” shouldn’t apply, O’Connell argued, either because they were simple facts, vague, or questions, not direct threats.  

She also contested some of the counts based on Arcata Police Department Lieutenant Keith Altizer’s testimony. O’Connell argued that because he wasn’t the officer who interviewed some of the victims, she couldn’t cross-examine him and should be excluded on procedural grounds. (The officer who did talk to the victims retired before the trial started; Altizer reached out to them to confirm their stories.)

Deputy District Attorney Roger Rees said that those calls met the standard of probable cause, and Judge Canning agreed. He said that violent questions could be “reasonably interpreted” as a threat, as could sending someone their own home address and their name. He also let evidence from Altizer’s testimony stand. Canning decided to throw out a few of the counts for lack of probable cause (police couldn’t tell where several of the phone calls were coming from), but he decided 32 of the counts would stand.

Jones’ arraignment will be held March 24 at 8:30 a.m.

Press release from the Eureka Police Department:

On March 9, 2026, at approximately 8:02 a.m., a Eureka Police Department (EPD) patrol officer was conducting traffic enforcement on 4th Street (US Highway 101 South) near A Street when the officer observed a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed. Using LIDAR, the officer obtained a reading of 74 miles per hour in a posted 30 mile per hour zone as the vehicle was passing multiple other vehicles.

The officer conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle. The driver, identified as 36-year-old Angel Barba of Redding, was placed under arrest for reckless driving. Occupants of the vehicle stated there were firearms concealed under the center console.

Officers conducted a search of the vehicle and located two semiautomatic pistols concealed under the front seat folding center console.

Barba was arrested and booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility for:

• PC 29800(a)(1) – Felon in Possession of a Firearm
• PC 30305(a)(1) – Prohibited Person in Possession of Ammunition
• PC 25400(a)(1) – Carrying a Concealed Weapon in a Vehicle
• PC 25850(a) – Carrying a Loaded Firearm in Public
• VC 23103(a) – Reckless Driving

Barba’s passenger, 25-year-old Caden Hendrix of Redding, was arrested and booked for:

• PC 25850(a) – Carrying a Loaded Firearm in Public
• PC 25400(a)(1) – Carrying a Concealed Weapon in a Vehicle

This enforcement action occurred as part of Operation Gateway 101, a collaborative initiative involving the Eureka Police Department, Public Works, Code Enforcement, other City departments, and community partners. The program is designed to address traffic safety and quality of-life concerns along the Highway 101 Corridor, the city’s primary gateway, ensuring a safe, welcoming, and well-maintained environment for residents, businesses, and visitors.

While Operation Gateway 101 provides focused attention along this critical corridor, the Eureka Police Department continues to actively address crime, traffic safety, and quality-of-life concerns throughout the entire community. Citywide patrol operations, targeted enforcement efforts, community engagement, and investigative follow-up remain ongoing to ensure public safety across all neighborhoods in Eureka.

Press release from the Humboldt County Drug Task Force:

In November of last year, Humboldt County Drug Task Force Agents began investigating a drug trafficking organization (DTO) operating out of both Humboldt and Trinity Counties. Through their investigation, Agents determined the DTO was transporting methamphetamine from the Los Angeles area into Northern California.

On March 5th, 2026, Humboldt County Drug Task Force (HCDTF) with the assistance of the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office POP Team and the Tehama County Sheriff’s Office, served search warrants on James Faycurry (55 years old from Hayfork), Robbi Faycurry (60 years old from Hayfork), and Mitchell Oloughlin (67 years old from Mad River), as well as their vehicles and residences in Humboldt and Trinity counties.

Agents contacted James Faycurry, Robbi Faycurry, and Mitchell Oloughlin at the Rolling Hills Casino in Tehama County. In their vehicle, Agents located a hidden compartment containing 23 pounds of methamphetamine and 1 ounce of fentanyl.

James Faycurry, Robbi Faycurry, and Mitchell Oloughlin were transported to the Humboldt County Correctional Facility where they were booked on the following charges:

• HS11378- Possession of a controlled substance
• HS11379(B)- Transportation of methamphetamine for sales throughout non-contiguous counties 
• PC182(A)(1)- Conspiracy

Mitchell Oloughlin is also a registered sex offender. 

Anyone with information related to this investigation or other narcotics related crimes is encouraged to call the Humboldt County Drug Task Force at 707-267-9976.

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This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

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Not long after Steve Clarke found out there was a push to require voter ID at the polls, he began canvassing for signatures in Sacramento.

Many of the residents he encountered were angry, Clarke said. He began volunteering for Reform California, the group behind the initiative, last year after feeling frustrated with homelessness and the cost of living. “They want the same things: Integrity back in our elections.”

Clarke and his wife are among the thousands of activists pushing for a Republican-backed voter ID ballot initiative that supporters are working to put on the November ballot. Organizers last week said they’ve submitted more than the nearly 875,000 signatures required to qualify the measure — 1.3 million in all. As officials work to verify the signatures, opponents are organizing a campaign built around President Donald Trump and his push for a similar nationwide proof-of-citizenship voter requirement.

Voting rights groups say voter ID laws unfairly disadvantage poor people and Black and Latino voters who are less likely to have official identification, and that creating more requirements is a way to make it harder for people who typically support Democrats to vote. They also point to the history of poll taxes, a fee that Southern states used to prevent Black and poor white Americans from voting after the Reconstruction era.

Recent polling has found popular support for some voter ID laws nationwide and in California. A 2025 poll from the UC Berkeley Institute of Government Studies showed a majority of Californians surveyed support voter ID at the polls — 54% overall approved of showing proof of citizenship each time a vote is cast.

The poll numbers underscore the need for the initiative, supporters say.

“We’ve structured this initiative based on what voters across the political spectrum would want,” said Assemblymember Carl DeMaio, a Republican from San Diego who is leading the initiative.

Under the proposal, mail-in voters would be required to provide the last four digits of a government-issued ID, such as a driver’s license number. The initiative would also require the secretary of state and county election offices to verify voters’ registration for each ballot cast.

Assemblymember Carl DeMaio announces that supporters of the CA Voter ID Initiative will submit more than 1.3 million signatures to qualify the measure for the November ballot at the west steps of the state Capitol in Sacramento on March 3, 2026. Photo by Fred Greaves for CalMatters

Currently, voters are only required to provide an ID and Social Security number when they register to vote, but not when they cast a ballot. Most states, however, require or recommend that voters present an ID when voting, according to a report by the National Conference of State Legislatures, though only 10 states are considered strict about it.

Experts agree that voting fraud is rare. A 2021 investigation by The Associated Press found fewer than 475 potential cases of voter fraud out of 25.5 million ballots cast in six battleground states in the 2020 presidential election, after Trump touted false claims that the election was stolen.

Opponents of the proposed initiative have stressed the rarity of voter fraud.

“California elections are already incredibly secure,” League of Women Voters of California Executive Director Jenny Farrell said. “There is no evidence of widespread noncitizen voting that would justify adding these strict requirements.”

Voting rights groups also claim the initiative would pose needless barriers and suppress voter turnout. League of Women Voters and other organizations plan to form a campaign committee to oppose the initiative.

Labor gears up for voter ID fight

Another potential opponent is organized labor, which is expected to campaign heavily against the initiative. That messaging will also likely focus on Trump’s support for similar legislation currently stalled in Congress that would require voter ID in federal elections.

California Labor Federation President Lorena Gonzalez told CalMatters that unions will argue the measure is unnecessary. “The California GOP in this situation are just taking Trump talking points,” she said. “I assume that it will be very clear that it’s a Trump fantasy.”

Popular support for some new voter requirements could complicate Democrats’ response to the California measure, said Mike Gatto, a former Democratic assemblymember who authored a failed ballot initiative on homelessness. He said messaging that’s centered on Trump, rather than voter suppression, would likely play better with voters.

“There’s always going to be that inconvenience of somebody, but I don’t know if that will be enough in the minds of voters to counter the positive messaging on this,” Gatto said.

Gonzalez said she could not say how much unions will spend campaigning against the initiative. “It’s hard to tell, because we don’t know what the initiative will look like. But again, this is a priority for us,” Gonzalez said.

A separate union-supported ballot initiative that seeks to tax the state’s billionaires could make it difficult for labor unions to prioritize a campaign against a voter ID initiative.

If voters were to approve it, California’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office estimates the new voter ID requirements would cost the state and local governments tens of millions of dollars to implement.

Initiative supporters started gathering signatures in September and have raised $10 million from wealthy and small-dollar donors, according to DeMaio. It’s primarily been funded by Julie Luckey, who chairs the initiative committee and is the mother of tech billionaire Palmer Luckey. The committee, Californians for Voter ID, raised $8.8 million in 2025. The committee worked with DeMaio’s political organization, Reform California, one of the state’s biggest grassroots fundraising groups for conservative causes.

Last year, DeMaio unsuccessfully introduced a bill proposing similar voter requirements but it had little chance of success in the Democratic-controlled Legislature.

In general, it’s much harder, and more expensive, to pass an initiative than to defeat one in California. Since 1912, voters approved just 35.5% of ballot initiatives, according to the secretary of state’s office.