Huntington Beach scores early legal victory in its voter ID battle

By Rene Lynch

Published Nov 15, 2024 5:03 PM

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Topline:

An Orange County Superior Court judge on Friday handed a legal victory to Huntington Beach in its battle to require residents to show ID when voting.

Let's start with the backstory: Huntington Beach voters recently approved a measure requiring people to show ID when casting a ballot. The measure also calls for increased monitoring of ballot drop boxes and increase voting locations. Supporters say the steps ensure that only registered voters are casting ballots and that, combined, the measures will restore voter trust in the election process.

So then what happened? The state filed suit to block implementation of the new measure, saying it violated the law. Critics also say voter ID requirements disproportionately affect low income people and non-white voters, and argue that there are plenty of voting safeguards already in place.

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Why now: On Friday, a judge sided with Huntington Beach, and the city released a statement vowing to move forward with the new slate of voting measures:

"Today, the Superior Court granted the City's motion to dismiss the State's lawsuit challenging the City's new Voter ID law," Huntington Beach Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark said in a statement. "This is a great day for our City — we have not only successfully defended our City's Voter ID law, but also the rights of our residents from attacks by Governor Newsom and the State. We will not back down and will continue to fight for the City."

What's next: State Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office released a statement to the Associated Press that the Friday decision “does not address the merits of the case” and predicted further legal action. “We continue to believe that Huntington Beach’s voter ID policy clearly conflicts with state law, and will respond appropriately in court." Bonta also released a statement on Sunday confirming that the battle is far from over: "... all local governments — including charter cities like Huntington Beach — are prohibited from disenfranchising voters at the polls by implementing voter ID requirements," he said, and added that the state remains "confident in the strength of our case.”