California is suing Huntington Beach over its voter identification measure, recently passed by voters, hoping to stop the city from asking residents to present proof of identification when voting at in-person polling locations.
“It is violative of California state election law, undermines that process and threatens the constitutionally protected right to vote,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta at a news conference in Los Angeles on Monday, April 15.
Secretary of State Shirley Weber, who oversees elections across California, said the voter ID requirement would disenfranchise voters and called it a solution in search of a problem.
“We informed (the city) back in the fall, if you put this on the ballot, this is against California law,” Weber said. “None of them ever responded to that.”
The lawsuit, filed in Orange County superior court, is seeking a court order to invalidate the charter amendment.
Bonta said there is no evidence of voter fraud in Huntington Beach. He said the measure was “intentionally brazen and will now be subject to accountability in court” and added that the city has greatly overstated its authority as a charter authority.
Measure A passed during the March primary election with 53.4% of voters in favor, with about 61,000 residents voting on the proposal put on the ballot by the City Council majority. The City Council certified the election results at its April 2 meeting.
The measure, which was an update to the city’s charter, was written saying the city “may” implement voter ID, but city leaders have said it is their intention to do so in 2026. That is the earliest the measure would allow implementation.
Bonta and Weber in September had already promised to take action when the council was discussing placing the measure on ballots.
Measure A also says the city may move to monitor ballot drop box locations within the city and provide more in-person polling locations.
Bonta said the state’s complaint doesn’t address monitoring ballot drop boxes, but “we are interested in how it gets implemented.” He said there are already prohibitions in state law of using video to undermine someone’s right to vote.
The City Council’s conservative majority and city attorney are up for reelection in 2026.
The lawsuit is the latest battle between the state and Huntington Beach.
“The city of Huntington Beach has repeatedly violated the law,” Bonta said. “They are not law-abiding.”
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