Huntington Beach voter ID measure violates California law, appeals court says

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SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A California appeals court ruled Monday that a Huntington Beach measure requiring voter identification at the polls violates state law.

The Fourth District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana determined that the measure passed by voters in the seaside city of 200,000 people should be struck down because it conflicts with state election law, said Lee Fink, a lawyer for Huntington Beach resident Mark Bixby, who challenged the city's measure. California Attorney General Rob Bonta also sued over the Huntington Beach law contending it would disenfranchise voters.

“Voting is the fundamental right from which all other rights flow, and no matter where threats to that right come from — whether from Washington D.C. or from within California — we will continue holding the line,” Bonta said in a statement. “California’s elections are already fair, safe, and secure.”

Corbin Carson, a Huntington Beach spokesperson, said the city is reviewing the appeals court's ruling.

Residents of Huntington Beach voted last year to let local officials require voter identification at the polls starting in 2026. The measure also allows the city to increase in-person voting sites and monitor ballot drop boxes in local elections.

Bonta filed a lawsuit saying the measure conflicts with state law and could make it harder for poor, non-white, young, elderly and disabled voters to cast ballots. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, then signed into state law a measure barring local governments from establishing and enforcing laws that require residents provide identification to vote in elections.

Huntington Beach, which is known as “Surf City USA” for its scenic shoreline dotted with surfers, has a history of sparring with state officials over the measures it can take under its city charter on issues ranging from immigration to housing. The GOP is dominant in Huntington Beach with nearly 57,000 registered voters versus 41,000 Democrats, county data shows.