A California appeals court questioned whether Huntington Beach‘s voter identification law might place an unreasonable burden on voters in city elections starting in 2026.

The Fourth District Court of Appeals heard oral arguments on Wednesday, Oct. 22, from attorneys in two lawsuits challenging the city’s effort to establish a local voter ID requirement.

Michael Cohen, an attorney for California, said Huntington Beach’s voter ID policy contradicts state law, which says no governing body overseeing elections in the state, including charter cities, can require voter identification at voting centers. Cohen said enforcing the ID requirement would require the city to separate local elections from statewide ones, establish different polling places and issue two sets of ballots to voters.

“The

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