Early returns Tuesday night have Huntington Beach residents approving a measure to allow the city to add voter ID requirements in future city elections.
The measure was failing in the first rounds of results returned Tuesday night, but then support pulled ahead later in the night. It’s one of three proposals updating the city’s charter that Huntington Beach voters decided on in Tuesday’s primary election.
Initial ballots counted showed voters were also in favor of Measure B, and but rejecting Measure C.
Measure B focused on the city’s flag policy, requiring unanimous votes by the City Council to fly new flags not already designated. Under Measure B, the city could fly flags representing the United States, the state, county, city, military flags and the Olympic flag.
Measure C focused on administrative changes. It would move the city to a two-year budget cycle, shorten the length of council vacancy appointments and give the mayor the power to cancel council meetings.
The election serves as a test of what level of voter support exists for some of the most contested policies the council’s conservative majority of Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark and councilmembers Pat Burns, Casey McKeon and Tony Strickland have pushed for.
The most contested proposal was Measure A, which would allow the city beginning in 2026 to implement voter ID requirements in city elections as well as ballot drop box monitoring and setting a minimum number of in-person polling locations.
Strickland, a former state assemblymember and senator, for years in the legislator tried to get California to adopt voter ID. Voter ID, he has said, strengthens faith in election results.
Strickland said he was optimistic about Measures A and B passing, but less so about C. Republicans and center-right voters, he said, tend to vote on election day.
“I was expecting whatever (vote tallies) came out first would be the best that they have in terms of percentage of the ‘No’ side,” Strickland said. “We will see. Again, I never thought this was going to be a landslide either way.”
Strickland said the “Yes” campaign could have done a better job explaining the benefits of a two-year budget.
Connie Boardman, a former mayor who campaigned against the measures with Protect Huntington Beach, said Tuesday night, “I think all of us felt this was an extremely good use of our time and important effort to fight against these measures. I don’t think Protect HB is going anywhere.”
Protect Huntington Beach organizers were feeling energized and hopeful Tuesday night, Boardman said
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Opponents to the measures have argued there’s been no evidence of voter fraud, indicating elections are already secure, and that Measure A would be costly to implement.
It’s unclear if Measure A passes if Huntington Beach would be forced to run its own municipal elections to implement the local requirement for showing an ID and not use the Orange County Registrar of Voters to consolidate elections. City leaders have said they hope to continue using the county’s election office.
Bob Page, who leads the county’s Registrar of Voters, has so far declined to say what might happen if Measure A passes. If the city begins running its own election, it would have to buy voting equipment.
The California attorney general and secretary of state have warned Huntington Beach about the legality of implementing voter ID. A resident is also hoping to block its implementation and has an ongoing lawsuit with the city in Orange County Superior Court.
The Orange County Registrar of Voters will post updates of results each weekday at 5 p.m. until all ballots are counted.
