To ID, or not to ID?
In the city of Huntington Beach, that is the question that continues wending its way the court system, as a three-judge California 4th District Court of Appeals panel heard arguments Wednesday morning in Santa Ana.
The state of California, as well as Huntington Beach resident Mark Bixby, are trying to overturn a ruling made in April by an Orange County Superior Court judge who determined the city would be within its right to require voter identification in municipal elections.
Oral arguments in both related cases were heard in back-to-back hearings Wednesday.
Huntington Beach voters in a March 2024 special election passed Measure A, adding into the city’s charter that officials “may” institute those requirements beginning in 2026.
Earlier this year, O.C. Superior Court Judge Nico Dourbetas ruled that a voter ID requirement would not compromise the integrity of a local election. But attorney Lee Fink, who represents Bixby, argued Wednesday before Dividion 3 appellate Judges Joanne Motoike, Thomas Delaney and Maurice Sanchez that the concept of requiring voter ID itself violates the California Constitution.
Elections Code 10005 states local governments cannot mandate the showing of ID, unless it is required by state or federal law. The code was updated after Senate Bill 1174, authored by then-state Sen. Dave Min, passed last year.
“The only regulation that can be placed on a voter’s right to vote is under the laws of the state of California, not under Huntington Beach’s charter amendment,” Fink argued to the panel.
He also referred to an Orange County Grand Jury report that commended the county Registrar of Voters “for ensuring election integrity” in the 2024 presidential election.
California Deputy Atty. Gen. Michael Cohen, arguing on behalf of the state, noted state election policy has traditionally out ruled local control. He added that with the charter amendment, Huntington Beach could require its residents to vote twice, at two different locations, on Election Day.
A pair of Huntington Beach voters fill out their ballots at City Hall in 2022.
(File photo)
John Howard, outside counsel representing Huntington Beach, argued charter cities have authority to administer their own elections.
“If [voter ID] is a means of suppressing the vote, why does the state do it on registration?” Howard asked.
He added that the state’s lawsuit was premature, given that Huntington Beach has not yet propagated any new election rules via a follow-up ordinance.
But, in an interview following the hearing, Fink said he didn’t necessarily imagine the city would implement new voting maneuvers through an ordinance, but rather by giving City Clerk Lisa Lane Barnes the authority to do so.
When Barnes was elected last fall, her campaign page encouraged residents to join her in her “fight to implement Measure A.”
“This absolutely gives the clerk unfettered power to implement it,” Fink said of the charter amendment. “There’s kind of a minimum that we argued, which is a driver’s license, but we don’t know if she would require more or do it on a discriminatory basis … But at its basic level, no matter what, any voter identification requirement is preempted by the Constitution and state law.”
Fink said the appellate court has up to 90 days to issue a decision.
