Huntington Beach voters are facing big questions from their city council on the March 5 Primary ballot this year, with city leaders asking for permission to implement Voter ID laws, a near-total ban on flying commemorative flags and changes to several other city policies.
It’s the first time residents have returned to the voter booth since they elected a Republican City Council majority in 2022, self-dubbed the “Fab 4,” that have made waves throughout the county on issues like their lawsuit against Governor Gavin Newsom over housing laws and removing the Pride Flag from city hall.
If approved, all the measures would become part of the city charter, meaning they could only be changed by another ballot initiative in the future.
Mail-in ballots have been sent out for the primary election – the last day to vote is March 5.
City Council Members Champion Voter ID, Ballot Box Monitoring
The top measure on the ballot and the one that’s received the most intense debate thus far is Measure A, which would let the city require voters to show a government-issued ID at the polls, open more polling places and monitor ballot drop-off boxes throughout the city.
Proponents of the new oversight measures say it’s to help reassure voters that their votes are getting counted properly, and it’s been frequently defended by members of the council’s Republican majority.
[Read: Voter IDs, Noncitizen Voting: Two Orange County Cities Fuel Opposing Debates on Voting]
“California’s Constitution gives Charter Cities like Huntington Beach the power to govern how local elections are conducted. Some cities, like San Francisco, have used that power to let illegal immigrants cast ballots,” wrote Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark and Councilman Tony Strickland on the ballot argument for the shift.
To read the full argument, click here.
“Enshrining these simple steps into our City Charter would forever protect Huntington Beach’s elections,” they continued. “There are no excuses for failing to protect our vote.”
It’s unknown how much it’ll cost the city for the new vote centers, security measures and potentially taking over running their own elections – a contention the Democrat minority of the city council have repeatedly brought up, alongside concerns that it could disenfranchise voters.
“Measure 1 misleads voters…potentially forcing Huntington Beach to conduct its own elections, a task for which the city is UNPREPARED and LACKS INFRASTRUCTURE,” wrote Councilmembers Dan Kalmick, Rhonda Bolton and Natalie Moser on the ballot.
There is currently no evidence of widespread voter fraud in Orange County.
It remains unclear if the city would have to take over running its own elections, with Orange County Registrar of Voters Bob Page declining to comment on whether he would continue administering the city’s elections if they mandated voter ID.
“I cannot comment on the potential impact of Measure A because I must not influence how a Huntington Beach voter votes on the measure. I must be impartial,” Page said in a statement. “If the voters approve Measure A, I will then have to discuss with the City Clerk how the city plans to proceed.”
The initiative has also faced threats of a lawsuit from state Attorney General Rob Bonta, saying there is no benefit to the new law.
Will New Flags Fly Over City Hall?
The second measure on the ballot that’s already picked up a lot of discussion is Measure B, which would ban the introduction of any new flags over city hall without the unanimous approval of future city councils.
City council members have spent multiple meetings debating the Pride Flag, after the Republican majority voted to stop flying it last year amidst hundreds of public commenters weighed in on the issue.
[Read: Huntington Beach Officials Ban Pride Banner at City Properties Under New Flag Restrictions]
“There is no other flag that represents unity and equality more than our American flag, favoring no other persons or groups over others,” wrote Strickland, Van Der Mark and Councilmen Casey McKeon and Pat Burns in their statement for the initiative.
The initiative would also allow the city to fly the prisoner of war flag, Olympic flags, and flags for government bodies like the state, city and military.
The Democratic council minority is opposing the measure, saying it’s an effort to reduce representation in the city and claiming it’s part of the majority’s attack on efforts to recognize events like Black History Month.
“The claim that the American Flag represents all citizens equally is a flawed notion. The LGBTQ+ community’s fight for basic rights, the Civil Rights movement, ongoing efforts for gender and racial equality are part of our nation’s journey towards inclusivity,” wrote Bolton, Kalmick and Moser.
City Proposes Two-Year Budget, Other Procedure Changes
The final initiative on the ballot, Measure C, encompasses a series of changes to the city’s charter mostly focused on smaller minutia on how the city handles daily business.
The initiative would require the city switch to a two-year budgeting process instead of one, allow the mayor to cancel council meetings and would require anyone appointed to the city council to run for their seat in the next election, not the end of the term.
That suggested change comes after Councilwoman Rhonda Bolton was appointed to a seat vacated by former Councilman Tito Ortiz, who abandoned his seat less than a year into his term in 2021.
[Read: Tito Ortiz Resigns From Huntington Beach City Council]
While Bolton was not elected, she was appointed by other council members to hold that seat until the term ends later this year.
“Moving to a two-year budget process gives residents more transparency of the City’s long term planning and spending, and gives the City more time to adequately debate and account for priorities that go into the budget,” Strickland wrote on the ballot.
“This measure also prevents future City Councils from taking away the rights of voters to choose their elected leaders, by ensuring no Council Member is ever appointed to more than a 2-year term,” he said in the ballot statement.
Kalmick, Bolton and Moser also opposed the final initiative on the ballot, criticizing the rule that would allow city council meetings to be canceled by the mayor.
“Allowing City Council to eliminate and/or cancel regular Council Meetings on a whim causes voters to have less access to, and less transparency from, their City government,” they wrote. “Fewer Council Meetings means less access, transparency and accountability.”
Noah Biesiada is a Voice of OC reporter and corps member with Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him at nbiesiada@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @NBiesiada.
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