California Judge Rules Huntington Beach Can Proceed With Voter ID Law

Source: US News and World Report/AP

Nov. 15, 2024, at 6:07 p.m.


HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) — A judge on Friday rejected California’s lawsuit against the city of Huntington Beach over a local measure allowing officials to require voter identification at the polls. Orange County Superior Court Judge Nico Dourbetas ruled that existing state law does not block the local measure, which was approved by voters earlier this year. The ruling could clear the way for the majority-Republican city to implement one of California's only voter ID requirements at the polls in local elections.

“It’s a massive black eye to the state of California,” City Attorney Michael Gates said of the ruling. “And what the state of California needs to know, if they haven’t found out already, is Huntington Beach is not going to be intimidated or deterred.” State Attorney General Rob Bonta's office said in a statement to The Associated Press that the Friday decision “does not address the merits of the case." “We continue to believe that Huntington Beach’s voter ID policy clearly conflicts with state law, and will respond appropriately in court,” the office added.

Residents in the seaside city of Huntington Beach voted in March for a ballot measure that lets local officials require voter identification at the polls starting in 2026. It also allows the city to increase in-person voting sites and monitor ballot drop boxes in local elections.

A month later, Bonta filed a lawsuit, saying the measure approved in the city of nearly 200,000 people conflicts with state law and could make it harder for poor, non-white, young, elderly and disabled voters to cast ballots.

Read more: https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2024-11-15/california-judge-rules-huntington-beach-can-proceed-with-voter-id-law