A California appeals court ruled Monday that a voter identification measure approved by Huntington Beach residents last year violates state law.
Voters in the beachside city approved a measure requiring residents to show valid identification when casting a ballot. The measure, which would have impacted city elections, was expected to go into effect in 2026.
The state of California filed a lawsuit arguing the measure “unlawfully conflicts with and is preempted by state law,” but a lower court dismissed the case last year. Attorney General Rob Bonta later appealed that ruling.
“All along, Secretary of State Weber and I have maintained that Huntington Beach’s voter ID policy is unlawful. When the lower court disagreed, we moved quickly to file an appeal. Now, the California Fourth District Court of Appeal has sided with us,” Attorney General Bonta, said in a statement. “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. California’s elections are already fair, safe, and secure. No city in our state, charter and non-charter alike, can make it more difficult for voters to cast their ballots.”
Last year, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a new law that prevents the governing body overseeing elections in California from requiring voter identification at the polls.
Huntington Beach City Attorney Michael Gates has previously argued that the city’s charter city status allows it to regulate local elections as it sees fit, according to the Los Angeles Times. However, the law states that it will “apply to all cities, including charter cities.”
The ruling comes one day before Californians decide on Prop. 50.
Prop. 50 would override the state’s independent redistricting commission for the 2026, 2028, and 2030 elections. The commission, approved by voters through ballot measures in 2008 and 2010, was designed to remove politics from the process, which is typically conducted every 10 years using U.S. Census data.
Under the plan, the commission would remain in law but lose authority – at least temporarily.
Supporters argue that the measure is necessary to counter partisan gerrymandering in GOP-led states. Opponents, however, argue it amounts to gerrymandering itself, returning power to politicians after voters had deliberately removed it.
A “yes” vote on Prop. 50 would allow the Legislature to implement new district maps for the next election cycle. A “no” vote would preserve the current maps drawn by the Citizens Redistricting Commission until new lines are created after the 2030 Census.
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