A judge in Orange County, California, has rejected an effort by the Democrat-run state to block the City of Huntington Beach from enforcing a voter ID law that local voters passed by referendum last year, at least for municipal elections.
Huntington Beach, “Surf City USA,” often bucks the left-wing trend in California, fighting back against coronavirus restrictions, amnesty for illegal aliens, “affordable housing” requirements, and a Democrat-backed ban on voter ID.
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed a statewide ban on voter ID into law last year in response to Measure A, passed by local voters last spring. But the city argues its independent powers under state law give it control of its own elections.
A county judge agreed, according to the Orange County Register:
“There is no showing that a voter identification requirement compromises the integrity of a municipal election,” Orange County Superior Court Judge Nico Dourbetas wrote in his ruling.
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“Yet again, we believe the Orange County Superior Court got it wrong,” Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement. “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.”
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A three-judge panel in the Fourth District Court of Appeal, which took an early look at the arguments in the case in February, had described the city’s argument that “it had a constitutional right to regulate its own municipal elections free from state interference” as “problematic.” The panel had asked the Superior Court judge to reconsider his earlier ruling.
The case now proceeds through the state appellate system. The left-wing California Supreme Court is likely to side against the city, possibly setting up a U.S. Supreme Court appeal.
Meanwhile, Republicans in the state recently launched an effort to put a referendum on the ballot in 2026 to require voter ID. President Donald Trump had also said he would like to see future aid to the state conditioned on voter ID.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
