California will appeal rejection of lawsuit over Huntington Beach voter ID law

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SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — California will appeal a judge's decision to reject a state lawsuit over a measure allowing the city of Huntington Beach to require voter identification at the polls, officials said Thursday.

State officials said they plan to continue to fight over the measure — passed by voters in March in the coastal city of 200,000 people — in the court of appeal. An Orange County Superior Court judge last month found it was too soon for the state to bring litigation over the local law, which allows the city to implement voter identification requirements in 2026.

“With preparations for the 2026 elections beginning late next year, we want and need a state appellate court to weigh in expeditiously," Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement.

Michael Gates, Huntington Beach's city attorney, said he supports the court's ruling and noted that the voting public supported the local measure.

“Voter ID in Huntington Beach is the law of our land here, it’s our Constitutional right, and, it’s here to stay – I will make sure of that,” Gates wrote in an email.

The Huntington Beach measure also lets the city increase in-person voting sites and monitor ballot drop boxes in local elections.

The state sued, saying the measure violates state law and could disenfranchise poor, non-white, elderly and disabled voters, and Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom later signed into a law a state measure banning local governments from establishing laws requiring residents to provide identification to vote.

Huntington Beach, which has been dubbed “Surf City USA” and is known 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 city is led by a politically conservative city council, and the GOP is dominant in Huntington Beach with nearly 57,000 registered voters versus 42,000 Democrats, county data shows.