California AG Bonta, Secretary of State sue to block Shasta County's Measure B
SHASTA COUNTY, Calif. — California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber have filed a lawsuit seeking to block Shasta County’s Measure B, an election overhaul the state says conflicts with California election law and could disrupt election administration ahead of the November midterm elections.
The lawsuit, filed in the California Third District Court of Appeal, asks the court to act quickly before the new rules could take effect.
State officials argue Measure B exceeds the county’s authority and is preempted by state law, which requires uniform election rules across California. The state says the measure would require voters to present a government-issued photo identification to register to vote and vote in person, eliminate vote-by-mail and most early voting options, mandate hand-counting of ballots, and create a separate county voter registration system disconnected from the state’s uniform system.
Measure B would limit elections to a single in-person Election Day, with limited exceptions for voters with disabilities, members of the military, and U.S. citizens living abroad.
“Measure B is legally indefensible. It directly conflicts with state law and threatens to upend the orderly administration of elections. The stakes are especially high because voters in Shasta County are just months away from casting their ballots in the November midterms,” Bonta said. “We are confident that the law is on our side and that Measure B will be struck down expeditiously. No city or county gets to unilaterally rewrite our election rules.”
Weber said the measure would reverse progress the state has made in election access and security.
https://krcrtv.com/news/local/california-ag-bonta-secretary-of-state-sue-to-block-shasta-countys-measure-b