After losing last month in Orange County Superior Court, California is asking state courts to overturn Huntington Beach’s actions that could require voters to present their votes to vote in local elections.
Atty. General Rob Bonta and Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, a top election official in the state, have been intertwined in court for more than a year than Measurement A to amend the city’s charter, saying that “local governments” can request “photos” for local government elections from 2026.
In April, Orange County Superior Court Judge Nico Durbetas said the state had not shown that “voter identification requirements undermine the integrity of local government elections.” Huntington Beach Mayor Pat Burns called the domination a “big victory.”
Bonta appealed to the fourth appeals district on Wednesday. There, the state wants a more advantageous hearing. In February, a three-time judge panel from District 4 filed a lawsuit in Orange County Superior Court, saying Huntington Beach’s “constitutional right to regulate state-free elections” was “problematic.”
Over 53% of Huntington Beach voters supported the charter amendment in the March 2024 election.
The amendment also requires Huntington Beach to provide 20 in-person voting locations and monitor vote drop boxes. The city has not shared plans for how the law can be implemented in next year’s elections.
A Huntington Beach representative did not respond to a request for comment Thursday. City lawyers argue that the city’s charter provides local government autonomy and oversees local government issues, including local elections.
Bonta and Weber argue that California’s 121 “charter cities” can control their own local governments, but local law cannot contradict state laws regarding issues of “statewide concerns,” such as the integrity of California’s elections and constitutional rights to vote.
The Voter ID Act is one of several fronts in the ongoing battle that conservative officials in Huntington Beach have been fighting against California since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. The city uses similar arguments about the state’s housing law, education policies for trans students, and the status of Charter City in the fight over “sanctum” immigration laws.
The issue of voter IDs was a flash point in January with conservative politicians, including President Trump. He called for California to enact Voter ID Act in January to receive assistance from a devastating Los Angeles area wildfire.
California voters must verify their identity when they register for the ballot, and the state imposes criminal penalties on fraudulent registration. California doesn’t require photo identification in polls, but it requires voters to provide their name and address.
Photo ID measurements could also be invalidated by Senate Bill 1174, signed by Gavin Newsom last fall.
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