One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
Huntington Beach is asking the US Supreme Court to uphold its controversial voter ID law
Voters wait to cast their ballots inside the Huntington Beach Central Library on Nov. 4, 2025.
(
Allen J. Schaben
/
Getty Images
)
Listen
0:41
Why Huntington Beach is asking the U.S. Supreme Court for backup
The vote at this week's city council meeting was unanimous. LAist's Jill Replogle breaks it all down for you.
Huntington Beach will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review a decision striking down the city’s controversial voter ID law.
What’s the backstory?
Huntington Beach voters approved a measure in 2024 allowing the city to require people to show ID when casting a ballot. That contradicts state law — voters in California are asked to provide ID when they register to vote but generally not at polling places.
-
LA Mayor Bass previews ‘fare-free’ system as she takes the Metro Board chair gavel for a second timeAt the annual Metro State of the Agency event, Bass named system safety, affordability and reliability as her main priorities. -
The city of L.A. has scheduled a hearing to gather testimony from residents and consider revoking an oil company’s permit to operate a facility in Jefferson Park. -
Tickets from the Sept. 22 grand opening through the end of next February were up for grabs as of Tuesday.
The ensuing court battle
The state and a Huntington Beach resident promptly sued the city over the voter ID law and won an appeals court ruling striking down the law. The California Supreme Court declined to review the decision earlier this month. The state also passed a law prohibiting cities from implementing their own voter ID laws.
Then, the City Council voted unanimously this week to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in.
Sponsored message
Does the city have a shot?
The Supreme Court gets 7,000 to 8,000 requests to review cases each year. The Court grants about 80 of these requests, so the city’s chances of getting the court’s attention are statistically slim.
There’s also a question of whether or not the city’s voter ID case meets the Court’s criteria for review — SCOTUS addresses questions of federal law. Mayor Casey McKeon said it does, in a news release, noting a 2008 Supreme Court decision that upheld a state’s voter ID law — in Indiana. But Huntington Beach is a city, and the question in its voter ID case is whether or not a city can implement its own requirements for voting, even if it clashes with state law.
Go deeper
- Huntington Beach's controversial voter ID law is illegal
- Huntington Beach clashes with California over voter ID requirement in court
- HB Mayor defends Voter ID measure as Gov. Newsom seeks to ban it
-
Listen 26:32The Trump Administration wants your confidential voter data. What’s behind their battle with CA and other states?
How to keep tabs on Huntington Beach
- Huntington Beach holds City Council meetings on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 2000 Main St.
- You can also watch City Council meetings remotely on HBTV via Channel 3 or online, or via the city’s website. (You can also find videos of previous council meetings there.)
- The public comment period happens toward the beginning of meetings.
- The city generally posts agendas for City Council meetings on the previous Friday. You can find the agenda on the city’s calendar or sign up there to have agendas sent to your inbox.
-
The change will mean CalOptima members who fall off Medi-Cal will remain eligible to enroll with the plan. -
The 2026 Orange County Fair is offering plenty of new food creations this year, including a PB&J bacon cheeseburger and a Dubai chocolate deep-fried Oreo. -
Proposed court decision says Marilyn “Mari” Barke will have to pay nearly $82,000 in penalty fees, as well as attorneys’ costs.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
