New California voter ID ban puts conservative cities at odds with state

By Alexei Koseff | CALmatters California has become the latest battleground over voter identification requirements, a longtime conservative priority newly propelled in recent years by election fraud complaints from President-elect Donald Trump. Under a state law that takes effect on Jan. 1, local governments across California will be prohibited from compelling voters to present identification to cast a ballot in an election. Dave Min, an Irvine Democrat just elected to Congress, took up the ban this year as a state senator after Huntington Beach voters in March adopted a charter amendment allowing the city to require ID in its municipal elections. That measure — which takes effect in 2026, and also grants the city authority to add more in-person voting locations and monitor ballot drop-boxes — was part of a broader push by local leaders to make Huntington Beach a bulwark of resistance against California’s liberal governance. Supporters believe that mandatory voter identification, a popular policy in Republican states, can address growing public concerns about election integrity following Trump’s false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. But other than when new voters register, Democrats in California have resisted ID requirements, which they argue disenfranchise young, low-income, disabled and...