Senate Bill 1174 was introduced in response to a ballot initiative passed by voters in Huntington Beach this March. The initiative aimed to amend the city’s charter to mandate that California residents show identification to vote in municipal elections. The measure was approved by more than 53 percent of voters in the primary election. “The right to freely cast your vote is the foundation of our democracy and Huntington Beach’s voter ID policy flies in the face of this principle,” Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement announcing a lawsuit over the ballot measure. “State election law already contains robust voter ID requirements with strong protections to prevent voter fraud, while ensuring that every eligible voter can cast their ballot without hardship.” Under SB1174:California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed legislation prohibiting local governments from requiring voters to present identification at the polls.
A local government shall not enact or enforce any charter provision, ordinance, or regulation requiring a person to present identification for the purpose of voting or submitting a ballot at any polling place, vote center, or other location where ballots are cast or submitted, unless required by state or federal law. For the purpose of this section, “local government” means any charter or general law city, charter or general law county, or any city and county. The legislation specifically targets Huntington Beach, a “charter city” under California law. However, because the state constitution grants charter cities control over their municipal affairs, the new law may face legal challenges, potentially setting up a showdown between the city and state. “A charter city’s law concerning a municipal affair will trump a state law governing the same topic,” according to the League of California cities. Legal precedent has already been set establishing this principle. After Newsom signed the bill, Huntington Beach Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark asserted that the bill does not apply to her city because of its charter city status. “The state cannot pass any laws that strip us of our constitutional rights, so that law does not apply to us or affect our new election laws,” she said.
