CALIFORNIA—On Thursday, September 26, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law banning the requirement of voter ID at the polls. According to the California Legislative Information website, Chapter 990, is an Act to add section 10005 to the election code relating to elections.

Reports indicate that this bill was passed in direct response to a law Huntington Beach passed requiring voter ID.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Secretary of State Shirley Weber backed Newsom’s decision.

The state of California has reportedly filed suit against Huntington Beach in an attempt to overturn the legislation requiring voter ID.

On August 30, Senator Dave Min (D-CA) initially introduced Senate Bill 1174. The following came directly from his webpage. Min has indicated that Huntington Beach is a charter city and that the state law Newsom is attempting to impose should not trump federal law.

“Today, Senator Dave Min (D-Irvine) announced that the Assembly passed Senate Bill (SB) 1174, which places a ban on local governments imposing voter identification (ID) requirements in local elections. The legislation prevents a patchwork of varying election requirements across the state and reinforces the State of California’s exclusive jurisdiction on the issue.”

In a press conference, Weber made the following statement regarding the passing of the bill:

“It really is a solution looking for a problem, because we have not found this problem. We have worked very hard to make sure that every eligible Californian knows that they have the right to vote.”

The following information and the full text of the bill may be found on the California Legislative website.

“THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

SECTION 1. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1) Under existing law, a person is entitled to vote in a local, special, or consolidated election who is registered in any one of the precincts which is composed of the local, special, or consolidated election precinct.

(2) California ensures the integrity of its elections by requiring a person to provide a driver’s license number, a California identification number, or the last four digits of their social security number to register to vote.

(b) The Legislature finds and declares that Section 2 of this act adding Section 10005 of the Elections Code addresses a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair as that term is used in Section 5 of Article XI of the California Constitution. Therefore, Section 2 of this act applies to all cities, including charter cities.

SEC. 2. Section 10005 is added to the Elections Code, to read:

10005. A local government shall not enact or enforce any charter provision, ordinance, or regulation requiring a person to present identification for the purpose of voting or submitting a ballot at any polling place, vote center, or other location where ballots are cast or submitted unless required by state or federal law. For the purpose of this section, “local government” means any charter or general law city, charter or general law county, or any city and county.”

The state of California is one of 14 states that does not require voter ID.

On April 21, 2017, North Carolina issued a post-election report on the 2016 Presidential election reported 41 legal immigrants who had yet to become citizens had cast ballots.

In July 2024, the House of Representatives passed a bill requiring proof of citizenship to vote.