November 15th, a judge at the Orange County Superior Court in California made a ruling to reject the state government’s lawsuit against Huntington Beach’s voter identification law, but the state attorney general is expected to continue the fight.
City attorney Michael Gates told Epoch Times on the 18th, “Honestly, this is a great victory for Huntington Beach. As I have said before, I believe this is a disgrace for the state government.” California can refile the lawsuit within 20 days, but Gates confirmed on the 18th that the city is moving forward with the voter identification program.
Huntington Beach’s nearly 200,000 voters approved the law in a vote on March 5th this year, allowing voter identification verification to begin in 2026 for voting. In April, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Secretary of State Shirley Weber filed a lawsuit against the law, claiming it conflicted with state law and could make it harder for marginalized groups such as the poor, non-whites, young people, older adults, and people with disabilities to vote.
Bonta and Weber stated that the city law contradicted a bill proposed by State Senator Dave Min, which Governor Newsom signed on September 29th, banning local governments from requiring voter identification verification in elections, effective next year.
The latest ruling from the Orange County Superior Court supports the city’s request and dismisses the state government’s lawsuit. The judge in the ruling stated, “The court finds that the time is not right to decide this matter because… the city charter has permissive and discretionary provisions, and therefore does not currently conflict with the state election law.”
Located about 40 miles south of Los Angeles, this coastal city in Orange County has approximately 192,000 residents. The voter identification law is an amendment to the city charter, defining voters as U.S. citizens, residents of Huntington Beach, and at least 18 years old. The city points out that if a conflict arises between the city charter and California election law, the city charter should take precedence.
Although Bonta mentioned the new California law in arguments presented to the court, city attorney Gates said the court did not see a conflict. He said, “We are exercising our constitutional rights.” The California Constitution grants charter cities local jurisdiction over local elections.
Huntington Beach became a charter city in 1937, deciding at the time to adopt a charter to ensure that the state government would not interfere in the city’s affairs or take over its oil revenues. However, in the lawsuit, Bonta argues that under current state law and Min’s SB1174 bill, all local governments, including charter cities like Huntington Beach, are prohibited from implementing local laws that would conflict with state law, such as voter identification verification laws.
Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark of Huntington Beach stated in a Facebook post on the 15th that the city does not intend to back down. “Today is a great day for our city – we not only successfully defended the city’s voter identification law, but also defended residents’ rights from Governor Newsom and the state government’s attacks.” She said, “We will not back down and will continue to fight for the city.” ◇