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Airbnb co-founder who once gave to Biden puts $8 million behind California voter ID

Ex-Democrat Billionaire Joe Gebbia Gives $8 Million to California Voter ID as Newsom Joins Opposition

by
M.A. Rothman

By M.A. RothmanOctober 9, 2026 · 4 min read
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Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia, a billionaire who once wrote checks to Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden, has given $8 million to Californians for Voter ID, the main committee backing Proposition 39. The donation, reported on October 8, lands less than four weeks before the November 3 election and gives the campaign to require identification at California’s polls a major late cash infusion.

It also sets up a clean contrast. On one side, a former Democrat now willing to put his own money behind the idea that voters should prove who they are. On the other, a governor who calls it the latest attempt to silence Californians.

What Prop 39 would do

Proposition 39 would amend the California Constitution. According to KQED’s voter guide, voters casting ballots in person would have to show government-issued identification. Mail voters, who make up the vast majority of California’s electorate, would write the last four digits of an ID number on their ballot envelope; today, an ID number is required only at registration. The measure would also direct the secretary of state and county election officials to verify voters’ citizenship and report each year on what share of the rolls they have checked.

Its key backers include Assemblymember Carl DeMaio of San Diego and state Sen. Tony Strickland, both Republicans. The committee backing it is chaired by Julie Luckey, the mother of tech entrepreneur Palmer Luckey. Supporters note that it would not require proof of citizenship at registration or restrict mail voting.

None of that is exotic. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, as cited by CalMatters, 36 states already request or require some form of voter ID.

The donor

Gebbia’s politics have traveled a long way. The New York Post reports that he has donated to Democrats including Clinton and Biden, but has since aligned himself with President Trump and took a role with the Department of Government Efficiency. Political.org identifies him as the White House’s chief design officer, a post focused on overhauling federal websites and digital services, and calls the gift the largest political contribution of his career.

His money changes the math. According to the Post, the donation pushes Californians for Voter ID’s cash on hand from $12.9 million in September to roughly $20.9 million, while the four committees opposing Prop 39 had $8.4 million on hand. Measured by total money raised rather than cash in the bank, the race is closer: KQED’s running tally showed about $36.4 million raised in support and $31.2 million in opposition.

The largest single backer of the measure remains Illinois businessman Richard Uihlein, at $17 million. Other supporters include Nicole Shanahan, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s 2024 running mate, and crypto investors Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. On the other side, according to CalMatters, the California Democratic Party is the largest contributor, followed by the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, liberal donors Patty Quillin and Quinn Delaney, and the Service Employees International Union.

Newsom goes all in against it

The No on 39 campaign has called the measure a “MAGA power grab” and an attempt to “rig” elections, according to the Post. On October 7, the campaign announced that Gov. Gavin Newsom would join as an honorary co-chair. Gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra, a Democrat running to succeed him, and state legislative leaders have also lent their names to the opposition.

Newsom, in a statement to Politico reported by the Post, said: “Trump and his MAGA allies tried to rig our elections once, and California voters shut them down with Prop 50. Prop 39 is just their latest attempt to silence us, because they know they can’t win in California in a fair fight.”

Read that carefully. The governor of the nation’s largest state is arguing that asking a voter to show the same kind of ID needed to board a plane is a scheme to “silence” people. Opponents, including the League of Women Voters of California, argue fraud is rare and that ID rules would keep eligible voters from the polls. But if fraud is rare, verification costs honest voters very little, and it gives every Californian, whatever the outcome, a reason to trust the count.

Where the voters are

The polling is close and contested. A Mason-Dixon Polling survey conducted September 21 to 24 found 49% of voters planning to vote yes and 42% no, according to the Post. CalMatters reported that a Public Policy Institute of California poll in September put support at 43%, and that a UC Berkeley poll in April found broad support that slipped below 50% when respondents heard specific details.

That is why both sides are spending heavily in the final weeks. Opponents are betting that partisan messaging can turn a popular principle into a partisan fight. Gebbia is betting that Californians, many of whom have no trouble showing ID everywhere else in their lives, will see the measure for what it is.

When a billionaire who used to fund Biden is the one defending voter ID, and the governor is the one calling it an attempt to silence voters, Californians should ask which side actually trusts them.

Sources

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