California businesses have to go through a “gay-certification” process to receive special contracts meant for gay-owned companies, Christopher Rufo of City Journal reported Tuesday. If these business owners fail to sufficiently prove their claimed gayness, they may face up to a year in jail, while California’s vetting process for voters is practically nonexistent.
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) sets regulations for private utility companies and now pressures them to hire contractors, such as engineering firms, infrastructure companies, and fuel suppliers, who are owned by individuals who identify as LGBT, Rufo reported. CPUC’s “Supplier Diversity Program” works to “include diverse firms” in the organizations that receive utility company contracts. Former Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation in 2014 that expanded the definition of “diverse firms” to include businesses that are LGBT-owned, making them eligible for supplier-diversity benefits.
In order for businesses to receive these contracts, they must submit documentation that proves the qualifying owners’ LGBT status. Applicants can pick from a checklist of 13 options for how to prove their gay or transgender identity. Accepted documents include reference letters that can vouch for someone’s status as LGBT, joint living agreements that include a same-sex partner, or media coverage that states the person’s status as LGBT.
Although California does its due diligence to ensure the gayness of contract recipients, the state does not enforce voter identification with anywhere near the same scrutiny. California is one of 12 states with no voter ID law currently on the books. Individuals without a government ID can show a gym membership, credit card, or utility bill as “proof” of identification.
Furthermore, the state’s governor is actively working to prevent localities from signing voter ID requirements into local law.
When the Huntington Beach city council approved a voter ID measure and residents of the city approved it, Newsom signed legislation to prevent the will of the voters from prevailing. SB 1174 states that local governments “not enact or enforce any charter provision, ordinance, or regulation requiring a person to present identification for the purpose of voting or submitting a ballot at any polling place, vote center, or other location where ballots are cast or submitted, unless required by state or federal law.”
United States Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli said there are several ongoing investigations into voter fraud in an interview with California Politics 360. Essayli said California’s relaxed voting laws, which include universal vote-by-mail and the absence of voter ID requirements, are key issues with the state’s elections.
“Under longstanding DOJ rules, we can’t discuss the specifics of any investigation, but they are ongoing, and I do believe they will result in criminal charges in the near future,” Essayli said in the interview.
Meanwhile, business owners who want to register their company as LGBT have to jump through “a mess of documentation,” a trans-identifying male and business owner told City Journal. The business owner, who is married to a woman, had to provide documentation to the state to prove he is a “lesbian.”
Even as California’s laws require businesses to submit extensive paperwork proving they are LGBT to have preferential treatment for contracts, the state requires little to no proof of identification to vote.
