O.C. Superior Court judge rules for Huntington Beach, against state in voter ID case

An Orange County Superior Court judge ruled Monday in favor of Huntington Beach in its continued battle with the state of California over voter identification.

Measure A, an amendment to the city charter that states Huntington Beach may implement voter ID beginning with the municipal elections in 2026, was approved by more than 53% of the voters who cast ballots in March 2024. Its passage and the City Council’s subsequent adoption of the amendment led to a lawsuit by state Atty. General Rob Bonta and Secretary of State Shirley Weber, as well as by Huntington Beach resident Mark Bixby. They asked the court to strike down the provisions of the amendment because, Bonta asserts, “the Huntington Beach City Charter is preempted by and violates California law.”

Judge Nico Dourbetas originally ruled in November that the issue was not “ripe for adjudication” and that Measure A presented no conflict with state law. But, after Bonta and Weber appealed, the California Fourth District Court of Appeal disagreed with Dourbetas’ initial decision. In February, a three-judge panel ordered Dourbetas to issue an ruling on the merits of the case or the appellate court would take it over.

Dourbetas heard arguments from both sides on Thursday, before issuing his ruling on Monday.

“There is no showing that a voter identification requirement compromises the integrity of a municipal election,” Dourbetas wrote in his ruling. “Municipal election results do not lack integrity because only residents of a municipality who are eligible to vote participated in the election.”

In a statement, Huntington Beach Mayor Pat Burns called Monday’s ruling a victory, not only for his city, but charter cities throughout the state.

Bonta and Bixby’s attorney, Lee Fink, both said Monday that they will appeal the decision.

“While we are disappointed in the trial court’s ruling, all parties knew that the case would ultimately be decided at the appellate level,” Fink said in an email. “Aside from ignoring the Court of Appeal’s clear statement on the elections code, the trial court never addressed the constitutional issues involved, or even addressed the proper standard of review. We are confident that the appellate courts will reverse the trial court and stop the city’s unconstitutional and ideologically-driven voter ID requirements.”

Huntington Beach City Atty. Mike Vigliotta, appointed in February after Michael Gates took a job with the U.S. Dept. of Justice, said Monday he believed the court came to the correct conclusion that the state Constitution gives charter cities the authority “to make and enforce all ordinances and regulations in respect to municipal affairs.”

In 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court voted 6-3 in Crawford v. Marion County Election Board that a photo ID requirement in Indiana was legitimate to help the state prevent voter fraud, a decision that Dourbetas referenced in his ruling.

“The U.S. Supreme Court has already determined that voter ID does not violate the right to vote,” Vigliotta said in a statement. “While we anticipate this fight isn’t over, we are pleased with the court’s fair and just evaluation of the weakness of the state and Bixby’s legal case. I am honored that the [City] Council chose me to continue to fight for Huntington Beach, for the integrity of our elections systems, and for just outcomes under the law.”

Voters cast their ballots in Huntington Beach in 2020.

(Raul Roa)

Bonta noted Monday that no evidence of voter fraud has been presented in Huntington Beach, also arguing that state law overrides Measure A.

“Yet again, we believe the Orange County Superior Court got it wrong,” Bonta said in a statement. “Earlier this year, the California Fourth District Court of Appeal wrote that Huntington Beach’s argument that ‘it had a constitutional right to regulate its own municipal elections free from state interference ... is ... problematic.’ We agree. Now that we have a final order from the Orange County Superior Court, we look forward to moving on and appealing the decision. We remain confident that Measure A will ultimately be struck down.”

Weber added that she believes that Huntington Beach’s charter amendment is against state law, and that voter ID will result in the disenfranchising of voters.

California is one of 13 states nationwide that doesn’t require identification when voting in-person. However, a grassroots conservative group called Reform California is seeking to pass a statewide voter ID initiative in next year’s election.