Santa Ana, California — A California appeals court ruled Monday that a Huntington Beach measure requiring voter identification at polling places violates state law.
The 4th District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana decided to strike down the voter-approved measure in the coastal city of 200,000 people because it conflicted with state election law, said Lee Fink, an attorney for Huntington Beach resident Mark Bixby. challenge City scale. California Attorney General Rob Bonta also filed a lawsuit against the Huntington Beach law, arguing that it would disenfranchise voters.
“Voting is the fundamental right from which all other rights flow, and no matter where the threats to that right come from — whether from Washington, D.C. or from within California — we will continue to hold the line,” Bonta said in a statement. “California’s elections are truly fair, safe and secure.”
Corbin Carson, a spokesman for Huntington Beach, said the city is reviewing the appeals court ruling.
Huntington Beach residents voted last year to allow local officials to require voter identification at ballot drop boxes starting in 2026. The measure also allows the city to increase in-person voting sites and monitor ballot drop boxes in local elections.
ft. Bonta A lawsuit They say the measure contravenes state law and could make it difficult for poor, nonwhite, young, elderly and disabled voters to cast ballots. Then California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, signed the state law into law, a measure barring local governments from creating and enforcing laws that require residents to provide identification to vote in elections.
Known as “Surf City USA” for its picturesque beaches filled with surfers, Huntington Beach has a history of sparring with state officials over what actions it can take under its city charter on issues ranging from Immigration to Housing. County data shows the Republican Party dominates in Huntington Beach with nearly 57,000 registered voters versus 41,000 Democrats.