International Courant
A conservative enclave in Southern California is embroiled in a authorized dispute with the state’s liberal authorities over its voter ID regulation that was handed by greater than 50% of town’s voters.
Huntington Seashore Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark instructed Fox Information Digital the most recent lawsuit from Sacramento authorities is simply one other focused assault on town’s values.
“I am an individual of shade, I grew up in a low-income neighborhood in Los Angeles, and all of us had IDs,” Van Der Mark instructed Fox Information Digital in an interview Thursday. “And one factor that’s actually irritating is that they’re saying, individuals like me are too ignorant or incapable of getting an ID, and that is insulting.”
“That is undoubtedly authorities overreach,” she stated.
California’s Democratic Lawyer Common Rob Bonta and California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber filed a lawsuit last week in opposition to the seashore metropolis – which is roughly 35 miles south of Los Angeles – difficult its voter ID regulation, Measure A, which amends town’s constitution to permit voter ID necessities by 2026. It additionally features a requirement for added in-person voting areas.
CALIFORNIA SUES HUNTINGTON BEACH OVER VOTER ID LAW BACKED BY MAJORITY OF RESIDENTS
Huntington Seashore Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark is defending town’s voter ID regulation that voters handed in March 2024. (Getty Photos)
“They’re telling us ‘it is okay, we do not want these measures of safety,’ however we’re insisting on them,” Van Der Mark, elected in 2023, stated. “So, they’ll sue us. We’ll push ahead and do what the individuals need us to do.”
Of their lawsuit, Bonta and Weber argued that town’s voter ID regulation “unlawfully conflicts and is preempted by state regulation.”
“The appropriate to freely solid your vote is the muse of our democracy and Huntington Seashore’s voter ID coverage flies within the face of this precept,” Bonta stated in an announcement.
He argued that state elections already include “sturdy voter ID necessities with robust protections to stop voter fraud.” He stated the brand new necessities would disproportionately burden “low-income voters, voters of shade, younger or aged voters, and other people with disabilities.”
AG GARLAND PLEDGES TO FIGHT VOTER ID LAWS, ELECTION INTEGRITY MEASURES
Waves roll previous the Huntington Seashore Pier, epicenter of town’s seashore tradition, in Huntington Seashore, California, on Feb. 22, 2024. (Rick Loomis for The Washington Publish by way of Getty Photos)
The Metropolis Council, led by a politically conservative majority since 2022, stirred appreciable debate by making contentious choices on varied points just lately, just like the government-only flag protocol on metropolis properties and removing of sexually specific books within the public library.
“Sacramento is attempting to make an instance out of Huntington Seashore,” Van Der Mark stated. “They’re suing us each alternative they’ll and each time we do one thing, they attempt to write payments to counter what we’re doing or to make what we’re doing unlawful. So, I imagine they’re attempting to sway us into submission, and we’re not going to permit that to occur.”
LA MAYOR BREAK-IN SUSPECT WAS ‘TARGETING’ BASS, GASCON SAYS
California Lawyer Common Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit final week in opposition to Huntington Seashore, difficult its voter ID regulation, Measure A. (Getty Photos)
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California officers first warned Huntington Seashore officers to drop the voter ID proposal in September. The lawsuit argues that Measure A violates state regulation and is invalid as a result of it conflicts with California’s Structure, which grants constitution cities the authority to manipulate “municipal affairs” however prohibits native legal guidelines from conflicting with statewide legal guidelines.
Beneath present California regulation, in line with the AG’s workplace, “voter id is established earlier than registered voters get to the polls; on the polls, registered voters are solely required to supply their title and tackle – no additional identification is required.”
This isn’t the primary time the state has threatened a conservative metropolis over native legal guidelines handed. Final yr, Bonta threatened a number of college districts over their parental notification insurance policies.
Fox Information’ Bradford Bretz and The Related Press contributed to this report.
Jamie Joseph is a author who covers politics. She leads Fox Information Digital protection of the Senate.
Seaside metropolis resisting state Dems’ try to power it into ‘submission’ over voter ID regulation
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