California Court Permanently Halts Local Voting Measure Requiring Photo ID, Ending Vote-by-Mail and Mandating Hand Counts
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California Secretary of State's office announced on November 9 (press release PR26-142) that the Superior Court of Shasta County, in Northern California, struck down the county's Measure B that day, permanently halting implementation of the local voting measure. The Secretary of State's office said Measure B would have imposed voting requirements that violate state law and exceed the county's authority, and would have effectively disenfranchised thousands of eligible voters in Shasta County.
"Any way you slice it, Measure B was a colossal waste of time and taxpayer funds," California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, Ph.D., said in the release. "The proponents of the Measure knew it was unlawful but submitted it to the voters anyway. Today's decision affirms what was a forgone conclusion from the beginning. As long as there are those willing to enact reckless, illegal, and poorly drafted laws, on behalf of Californians, we will see them in court."
According to the Secretary of State's office, Measure B would have required voters to present a government-issued photo identification to register to vote and to vote in person, eliminated vote-by-mail and most early voting options, and mandated the hand-counting of ballots. It would also have created a separate county voter registration system disconnected from the state's uniform system, and limited voting to a single in-person Election Day, with limited exceptions for voters with disabilities, members of the military, and U.S. citizens living abroad.
The Secretary of State's office said the ruling ensures those changes will not be implemented or enforced, and that California leads the nation in offering eligible voters secure, accessible, and transparent elections.
Source: California Secretary of State
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：加州州务卿大楼入口（萨克拉门托 1500 11th Street），加州州务卿办公室固定配图（Maveric149 摄，CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons）。 / Photo: Entrance of the California Secretary of State building at 1500 11th Street, Sacramento (Maveric149, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons).
