Huntington Beach’s voter identification charter amendment has been denied, after the California Supreme Court declined to hear the city’s appeal on Wednesday.
In a 2024 special election, Huntington Beach residents passed Measure A, a city charter amendment that would allow the city to check identification in municipal elections beginning this year. But state officials and Huntington Beach resident Mark Bixby have both pushed back on the city, arguing that a voter ID requirement was illegal and infringed on rights.
“Today’s victory makes one thing crystal clear: No city in our state, charter and non-charter alike, is above the law,” Bonta said in a statement on Wednesday. “All along, Secretary of State Weber and I have maintained that Huntington Beach’s voter ID policy is illegal, and now, the state’s highest court has weighed in and agreed with us. Measure A won’t be taking effect — ever. Huntington Beach’s leaders have been parroting the Trump Administration’s talking points by questioning the integrity of our elections. In court, the city’s allegations were resoundingly rejected. I remain fully committed to protecting the right to vote from baseless attacks.”
Orange County Superior Court Judge Nico Dourbetas ruled in April 2025 that voter ID would not compromise the integrity of a municipal election. A three-judge panel of the state Fourth District Court of Appeal disagreed, however, in a November ruling, stating that the requirement was preempted by elections code that was recently updated.
The code was updated after Senate Bill 1174, authored by then-state Sen. Dave Min, passed last year.
Now Huntington Beach is left without a voter ID requirement after the state Supreme Court has denied to hear either the state case, brought forward by California Atty. General Rob Bonta and Secretary of State Shirley Weber, or Bixby’s case.
On Thursday Huntington Beach Mayor Casey McKeon declined immediate comment on the state Supreme Court denial. McKeon voted in 2023, along with council members Gracey Van Der Mark, Pat Burns and now-State Sen. Tony Strickland, to put the voter ID charter amendment on the ballot. He said that city leaders, including City Atty. Mike Vigliotta, would discuss the issue in closed session during Tuesday’s meeting of the City Council.
It was not immediately clear what recourse, if any, the city has.
Bixby has said previously that the special election and attempts to defend voter ID wasted taxpayer money.
Weber, in a statement Wednesday, said she and Bonta have held that state law preempts the city’s voter ID requirements.
“I am grateful the California Supreme Court did not disturb the Fourth District Court of Appeal ruling,” she said. “This is another victory for California, for voters and for democracy.”