A California State Court of Appeals is giving an Orange County Superior Court judge the rest of the month to decide whether he’ll make a decision on the constitutionality of Huntington Beach’s voter ID law or if they’ll step in and do it for him.
The law in question was approved by the voters last year, allowing city leaders to require IDs for in-person voting in Surf City, and was quickly challenged by state Attorney General Rob Bonta.
[Read: CA Attorney General Sues Huntington Beach Over Voter ID Law]
OC Superior Court Judge Nico Dourbetas previously refused to rule on the issue, saying it wasn’t ready to be discussed yet because city leaders hadn’t drawn up a plan on how voter ID would be implemented.
“The City’s Charter is permissive and discretionary in character, and thus currently presents no conflict with state elections law,” Dourbetas wrote in his ruling last November.
[Read: OC Superior Court Judge Lets Huntington Beach Voter ID Requirements Stand]
Bonta appealed the case to the state’s 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, a panel of three judges who all came back and told Dourbetas he needs to rule or they will.
“This is a ripe, present controversy,” the judges wrote in their statement. “Respondent court’s decision not to enter judgement violates the law.”
To read the full statement, click here.
The judges also questioned Huntington Beach’s argument that they have the power to make their own decisions about their elections as a charter city, calling it “problematic.”
[Read: Will Huntington Beach’s Legal Argument of Limited Independence Hold up in Court?]
“Municipal elections, including those in the City, are typically held in conjunction with statewide elections, and involve the same ballot, personnel, infrastructure, polling places, and voter registration,” the judges wrote. “Consolidation with the statewide elections takes the City’s municipal elections outside the home rule doctrine.”
The judges told Dourbetas he needs to either reopen the case by the end of the month or they will, asking the city to answer if they would be implementing any voter ID laws that go beyond state and federal law mandates.
Bonta praised the appellate court’s decision in a Thursday statement.
“Our priority remains the same,” he wrote. “Making sure that Huntington Beach’s Measure A is struck down as quickly as possible.”
Newly appointed City Attorney Mike Vigliotta did not respond to requests for comment on Thursday afternoon.
It’s another legal blow to the city, who’d previously held up Dourbetas’ ruling as one of the few wins they’d achieved across a slate of legal battles with the state over housing zoning mandates, voter ID and immigration.
Last year, the city lost a number of rulings in both state and federal courts requiring they complete a state approved housing plan, with former City Attorney Michael Gates vowing they’d take the cases as far as the Supreme Court if they have to.
Noah Biesiada is a Voice of OC reporter and corps member with Report for America, a Groundtruth initiative. Contact him at nbiesiada@voiceofoc.org.
