Huntington Beach cannot require residents to present identification to vote in local elections, a California appeals court decided.

The 4th District Court of Appeals in Santa Ana concluded that Huntington Beach’s proposed local voter ID requirement violates state election law — a decision that overturned an earlier trial court ruling in favor of the city’s stance that being a charter city allows local leaders greater control over municipal elections.

RELATED: California Republican lawmakers launch campaign to require voter ID

Related Articles

Opinion: California universities broke the silence of ALS with federal funds — now at risk

Nancy Pelosi expected to announce she won’t run for reelection in 2026

Election Day 2025: The five biggest races to watch

California law to protect Jewish students faces challenge over free speech concerns

A California paletero, who went viral with a heartfelt goodbye, is deported at last. ‘I’m leaving happy.’

In its opinion issued Monday, Nov. 3, the three-judge appeals panel said while it is not in its purview to decide whether voter ID policies prevent voter fraud — a topic that has spurred “vigorous nationwide debate” —  “this case presents us a much narrower, simpler question: Is voter identification a matter of ‘integrity of the electoral process,’ which our Supreme Court has held is a matter of statewide concern.

“We conclude it is,” the judges wrote.

In March 2024, Huntington Beach voters approved Measure A, a charter amendment that allows the city to require people to show ID at the polls starting in 2026, though the process for implementing that has not been voted on by the City Council.

The following month, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Huntington Beach resident Mark Bixby, who publishes the Surf City Sentinel Facebook page, separately sued the city to block the measure. Bonta said at the time that the voter ID policy “threatens the constitutionally protected right to vote.”

In December 2024, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a bill barring cities from enacting their own voter ID laws.

OC Superior Court Judge Nico Dourbetas, earlier this year, said there was nothing showing that Huntington Beach’s proposed voter ID requirement would compromise local election integrity and did not violate voter rights.

The state and Bixby both appealed the lower court’s ruling a month later — bringing the case before California’s appellate court, which heard oral arguments from both sides on Oct. 22.

The appeals court on Monday directed Dourbetas to issue a writ of mandate invalidating Huntington Beach’s voter ID policy.

“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 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.”

Bixby said that he is gratified by the court’s ruling.

“Voter ID disenfranchises voters and has shown no benefit to election integrity,” he said in a statement. “It’s time for the Huntington Beach City Council to stop with its MAGA politics of division and do some good for the people of Huntington Beach.”

Huntington Beach spokesperson Corbin Carson said the city is reviewing the appeals court decision and considering next steps.

The city can appeal to the state Supreme Court.