A California appeals court has overturned a ballot measure passed by 53.4% of Huntington Beach voters last year that would have given the city the authority to verify local election integrity by requiring voters to show personal identification.
The Fourth Appellate District of the California Court of Appeal handed down the decision on Nov. 3, concluding that a section of the state Elections Code preempts the municipal measure. The opinion reverses a trial court opinion concluding that “the challenged charter provision does not violate the right to vote and does not implicate the integrity of the electoral process.”
The trial court had found, in part, that a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2008 held that voter identification mandates do not run afoul of the right to vote under the 14th Amendment. But the appeals court found that California Election Code section 10005 was reasonable and narrowly tailored, concluding that electoral integrity at the city level is a “statewide concern reaching beyond the individual’s constitutional right to vote.”
A Huntington Beach spokesman, Corbin Carson, said no decision on a possible appeal has been made.
“The city is reviewing the appellate court’s decision and evaluating next steps,” Carson said in an email to the Southern California Record.
Supporters of voter ID requirements have argued that such requirements are needed to protect against voter fraud and safeguard the integrity of elections. But opponents see such requirements as obstacles for historically disadvantaged groups to cast their ballots.
The appeals court noted that amicus briefs in support of state Attorney General Rob Bonta’s position challenging the Huntington Beach measure made compelling points. The Legislature had sought to bar local governments from putting in place voter ID requirements that historically suppressed the votes of low-income voters, senior citizens, those with disabilities and racial minorities, according to the court’s decision.
“The state must strike a careful balance between, on the one hand, ensuring that only eligible voters are able to vote in elections while, on the other hand, not discouraging or preventing disadvantaged voters and communities from participating in the political process,” the court said. “Permitting the city to make its own rules, in violation of the state Elections Code, would upset the state’s delicate balance and could impugn the integrity of the city’s elections.”
The decision requires the trial court in Orange County to invalidate the section of the Huntington Beach City Charter in question and to enter an injunction directing defendants not to enforce or implement the measure.
“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,” Bonta said in a prepared statement. “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.”
Secretary of State Shirley Weber also said the court’s decision was a victory for California voters but that the legal fight had squandered taxpayer dollars.
“I will always stand on the side of Californians as part of my commitment to ensure that every eligible person can fully participate in our elections and have a voice in our democracy,” Weber said.
