Rick Caruso breaks with Dems, drops $25K on California voter ID push

Billionaire developer Rick Caruso is breaking with California’s Democratic establishment by putting $25,000 behind a ballot measure that would require voters to show ID at the polls — marking new territory in one of the state’s biggest political fights.Campaign finance records show Caruso — who spent more than $100 million to finish second in the 2022 Los Angeles mayor’s race — donated $25,000 on June 30 to Californians for Voter ID, the committee sponsoring the statewide initiative.Caruso’s donation comes as supporters have built a warchest of $3.38 million this year, according to The Post’s review of campaign filings. That is on top of $8.8 million raised last year.The voter ID initiative would require voters to present government-issued identification when voting in person and provide identifying information for mail ballots, while also directing the state to provide voter identification cards upon request.Republican Assemblyman Carl DeMaio, one of the state’s most outspoken advocates for voter ID requirements, praised Caruso for supporting the election security measure.“As a prominent Democratic leader, Rick Caruso’s endorsement of Yes on Prop 39 reflects the strong bipartisan support that exists for Voter ID,” DeMaio told The Post.  “Almost half of the signatures to put Prop 39 for Voter ID on the ballot came from Democratic and Independent voters and we expect the same bipartisan support to be reflected when Prop 39 overwhelmingly passes this November.”The Californians for Voter ID committee reported raising $1.67 million through the first three months of the year, but momentum has been building in the spring and summer with an additional $1.71 million raised.Caruso, who declined a request for comment, is pooling his money with a $1 million contribution from Steve Bray, a power magnate in Southern California, a $250,000 donation from venture capitalist Douglas Leone, and a $125,000 contribution from Stark Industrial LLC.Californi...