Voters in Huntington Beach, California, approved a ballot measure to institute voter ID for local elections despite threats from state officials.
Ballot Measure A was approved by voters in the coastal Orange County city on Tuesday by a roughly 53%-47% margin as of Friday. The measure calls for municipal elections to “require Voter Identification for elections; provide more in-person voting locations; and monitor ballot drop-boxes” beginning in 2026.
The state of California does not require voter ID for elections, and California Attorney General Rob Bonta warned the city against proceeding with the ballot measure in 2023, arguing it conflicts with state law.
“The City’s proposal to require voter identification at the polls in municipal elections conflicts with state law and would only serve to suppress voter participation without providing any discernible local benefit. Accordingly, we respectfully urge you to reject this proposed charter amendment,” Bonta wrote in a letter to the Huntington Beach City Council in September.
“If the City moves forward and places it on the ballot, we stand ready to take appropriate action to ensure that voters’ rights are protected, and state election laws are enforced,” he added.
Huntington Beach is among the few Republican hot spots in otherwise solidly Democratic California. The Golden State and the rest of Southern California tend to vote heavily for Democrats, but the city and Orange County tend to stray from the rest of the state.
Voters in the city on Tuesday also approved a ballot measure banning most flags, including the LGBT pride flag, from being flown on city property.
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Under Ballot Measure B, the only flags that can fly on city property include the American, California, Orange County, Huntington Beach, the MIA-POW, and any of the six armed forces flags.
The measure allows for the Olympic flag to be flown during the Summer Olympics, as Los Angeles will be hosting the 2028 Summer Olympics, and any flag that is approved by unanimous consent by the City Council.
