Huntington Beach is being sued by the state over a new law that lets the city require voters to provide identification to cast ballots at the polls starting in 2026.
The state's Attorney General Rob Bonta said the measure approved by voters in the Southern California city of nearly 200,000 people stands in conflict with state law and could make it harder for poor, non-white, young, elderly and disabled voters to cast ballots.
State officials previously warned that the measure to amend the city's charter would suppress voter participation and are asking a court to block it from taking effect, he said.
“The right to freely cast your vote is the foundation of our democracy and Huntington Beach’s voter ID policy flies in the face of this principle,” Bonta said in a statement while announcing the lawsuit.
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City attorney Michael Gates defended the measure in a statement.
"The Attorney General's press release that the city's Voter ID requirements violate state law is inconsistent with, in fact in direct conflict with, (state) Sen. David Min's, D-Irvine, new bill attempting to make Huntington Beach's Voter ID illegal,'' Gates said. "That blatant inconsistency speaks volumes. The city of Huntington Beach's Voter ID and other elections measures approved by the voters on March 5 to increase voter participation by mandating at least 20 more in-person polling locations and monitoring of ballot drop boxes are not only permissible, the city's authority is provided for them in the California Constitution, Article XI, Section 5(b), for local elections. The people of Huntington Beach have made their voices clear on this issue and the people's decision on the March 5th ballot measures for election integrity is final. To that end, the city will vigorously uphold and defend the will of the people.''
The measure was passed by voters earlier this year in Huntington Beach, a city in Orange County dubbed “Surf City USA” that is known for its scenic shoreline dotted with surfers catching waves.
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Huntington Beach's city council placed the voter ID measure on the ballot after taking a series of hotly contested decisions on topics ranging from flag flying to the removal of books from the public library’s children’s section over concerns about the appropriateness of materials. The moves were initiated by a politically conservative council majority, which took office in 2022, and have drawn scores of residents on all sides of issues to city meetings.
While Democrats outnumber Republicans in Orange County, the GOP is dominant in Huntington Beach with nearly 54,000 registered voters compared with 41,000 Democrats, county data shows.
