Huntington Beach voters will soon decide whether they want to require people to show ID to vote in city elections.
The ID requirement is the heart of Measure 1, one of three measures on the city’s March 5 ballot. Measure 1 also asks voters if they want the city to monitor ballot drop boxes and add more in-person polling locations.
The measure is one of the first big tests of residents’ feelings about the city’s sharp turn to the right under the leadership of an ultra-conservative city council majority, elected in 2022.
Supporters say Measure 1 would restore voters’ trust in the election process and ensure that only registered voters are casting ballots.
The proposal has set off alarm bells among voting rights advocates and state leaders, who point to evidence that voter ID requirements disproportionately impact low-income people and non-white voters. They say the state and county already have robust measures in place to ensure voters are who they say they are.
Local opponents also worry the ID requirement could come at a high price to taxpayers, for example, if the city has to defend it in court.
Huntington Beach Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark and her three conservative colleagues on the city council crafted the measure and voted in October to put it on the ballot. Van Der Mark, who is Latina and says she came from a low-income, minority community, told LAist she’s offended by opponents’ insinuation that requiring voter ID is “racist.”
“To me, it was insulting for them to say that just because we were poor, or maybe had a little more melanin, we weren’t capable of getting IDs,” she said.
What the ballot measure actually says
If voters approve…
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