The State of California filed an appeal in its lawsuit against the city of Huntington Beach on May 28, asking a state appellate court to reverse a lower court’s decision that allowed the city to require photo ID in its municipal elections.

In a lawsuit filed in 2024 challenging Measure A, the city’s initiative, Attorney General Ron Bonta and Secretary of State Shirley Weber argued that the policy is invalid because state law takes precedence over local law in matters of statewide concern, including the right to vote.

“California’s elections are fair, safe, and secure,” Bonta said in a May 28 statement. “We respectfully ask the California Fourth District Court of Appeal to reverse the lower court’s decision and overturn Huntington Beach’s unlawful voter ID policy. State law supersedes local law when it comes to constitutional matters like the right to vote, and we will continue to fight to safeguard this fundamental right in court.”

Measure A was approved in March 2024 with more than 53 percent of the vote. The amendment to the city’s charter would require voters to present a photo ID when casting ballots in local elections starting in 2026. It also defines an elector as a U.S. citizen, requires 20 in-person polling places, and would require ballot drop boxes to be monitored.

“Municipalities should not be allowed to defy state laws in the name of solving nonexistent problems,” Weber said in a statement. “I stand with Attorney General Bonta in fighting to reverse the lower court’s decision as we seek to overturn an unlawful voter ID policy.”

Their appeal comes one month after the Orange County Superior Court denied the state’s request to block the law.

“There is no showing that a voter identification requirement compromises the integrity of a municipal election,” Judge Nico Dourbetas wrote in his decision on April 7. “Municipal election results do not lack integrity because only residents of a municipality who are eligible to vote participated in the election.”

Dourbetas, in his ruling, cited the 2008 Supreme Court decision Crawford v. Marion County Election Board that held that voter ID requirements do not violate the right to vote and do not violate the 14th Amendment.

City officials have argued that its status as a charter city under Article XI, section 5 of the California Constitution allows the city to govern municipal affairs, including its local elections.

Bonta and Weber argue that local law cannot conflict with state law regarding matters of statewide concern, including election integrity and the right to vote. California state law currently does not require voters to present a photo ID.

In a move largely viewed as an attempt to stop Huntington Beach’s voter ID initiative, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 1174 in September 2024, which prohibits local jurisdictions, including charter cities, from requiring voters to present an ID at polling places during municipal elections, beyond what’s required at the state and federal level.

In March, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to overhaul election rules on voter registration requirements, election law enforcement, electronic voting system security, voting deadlines, and foreign interference in elections.