A new ad promoting a voter ID in California is turning heads with an artificial intelligence-generated version of actress Sydney Sweeney being arrested for voting twice.
The ad, released Wednesday by Californians for Voter ID, supports Proposition 39, a constitutional amendment on the Nov. 3 ballot.
In most cases, a California voter is not required to show identification to a polling place worker before casting a ballot.
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In the ad, a disheveled, heavy-set man shows up to vote and says he’s Sydney Sweeney, prompting the election officer to ask, “Can I see your ID then, Sydney?”
Another poll worker chimes in, “Sharon, you can’t ask for ID.”
The first officer then gives the man a ballot, adding, “Thank you for voting, Sydney.”
Cut to Sydney Sweeney — an AI-generated version of the real actress — being taken away by two police officers and protesting: “Voter fraud? What are you talking about?”
The real Ms. Sweeney, who lives in Florida, has not commented on the use of her image.
“Prop 39 is a battle of politicians versus people. Politicians want you to vote no. The People are voting yes,” Californians for Voter ID said Wednesday on social media. “This ad is a parody, but the problem is not.”
Proposition 39 would require voters to show government-issued identification to vote in person, and to write the last four digits of an ID number on the envelope when voting by mail.
Congressional Democrats fiercely oppose voter ID laws and have blocked Republican efforts to pass a national ID requirement for federal elections.
House Republicans passed the SAVE America Act, which would require a government-issued photo ID to vote in person, but Democrats block it in the Senate.
Republicans say the requirement would prevent fraud. Democrats say it would make voting harder.
Federal law requires first-time voters who registered by mail to show ID if they did not provide a driver’s license or Social Security number, but it does not require a photo ID.
California is one of 14 states, along with the District of Columbia, that do not require ID at the polls. Thirty-six states request some form of ID, and 24 of them ask for a photo ID, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
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