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Judge signals willingness to hear arguments over Huntington Beach’s voter ID law

February 26, 2025

An Orange County Superior Court judge said Tuesday, Feb. 25, that he is inclined to reverse his previous dismissal in the state’s lawsuit against Huntington Beach’s voter ID law and hear arguments over the “meat and potatoes” of the case in the coming weeks.

Judge Nico Dourbetas, speaking to lawyers with Huntington Beach and the state at a hearing Tuesday, said he is leaning toward following the suggestion of an appeals court order from last week and reversing his December decision to dismiss the case.

While Dourbetas did not issue a ruling from the bench on Tuesday, he suggested arguments before him over the case’s core elements could happen sometime in April. That would speed up the ongoing legal battle between the state and Huntington Beach over the city’s voter ID law.

State attorneys have said a drawn-out legal battle will disrupt planning for the 2026 elections.

Huntington Beach voters approved Measure A last year, which added language to the city charter that said Huntington Beach could begin to ask people to show identification in city elections as soon as 2026. The state attorney general’s office followed up by suing to stop the law from getting implemented, arguing it violates multiple California laws.

City officials so far have not detailed how they intend to implement the law. Dourbetas said previously that Measure A didn’t conflict with state elections law at the time of its passing.

The state’s case against Huntington Beach received new life last week when an appeals court panel of judges issued an order asking Dourbetas to reconsider his earlier ruling that the case was not “ripe for adjudication.”

The appeals court disagreed, saying the case was a “present controversy.” The panel also described Huntington Beach’s arguments that it could regulate its elections free from state interference as “problematic.”

Anthony Taylor, an attorney for Huntington Beach, said the city is ready to make its arguments if the court wishes to do so in a few weeks. Taylor told Dourbetas that there are core issues that the appeals court hasn’t addressed that the city feels it can argue on.

Michael Cohen, an attorney for the state, said their reading of last week’s order is the appeals court would be inclined to rule in favor of the state.

To close Tuesday’s hearing, Dourbetas acknowledged that the case likely isn’t ending with however he rules.

“No matter what the ruling is here,” he said, “this is not going to be the end of the story.”

Orange County Register

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Judge signals willingness to hear arguments over Huntington Beach’s voter ID law

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