Final Court Order Strikes Down Shasta County's Measure B, Permanently Blocking Its Photo-ID, Mail-Voting and Hand-Count Rules
California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber announced on November 13 that they have secured a final judgment declaring Shasta County's Measure B unlawful and permanently enjoining its implementation. The local measure would have upended the county's election system and undermined state election law protections.
According to the Attorney General's office, Measure B would have required voters to present government-issued photo identification to register to vote and to vote in person, eliminated vote-by-mail and most early voting options, mandated the hand-counting of ballots, and created a separate county voter registration system disconnected from the state. Bonta and Weber filed suit in Shasta County Superior Court on June 30, 2026, arguing that the measure exceeded the county's constitutional authority: as a charter county, Shasta County has no home-rule authority over voter registration or elections, which are preempted by state law, and the measure directly conflicted with California laws governing voter identification, vote-by-mail, early voting, ballot counting, and the statewide voter registration system.
During the litigation, the two officials secured a preliminary injunction that blocked the measure from being implemented during the November 3, 2026 election, and successfully defended that injunction on appeal. The final judgment invalidates Measure B and ensures Shasta County will continue to hold its elections in accordance with state election laws. The county has more than 116,000 registered voters.
Bonta said California is committed to ensuring every eligible voter can participate in democracy by exercising the right to vote, and that the state will not stand for attempts to interfere in its elections process, calling the decision the shutdown of another unlawful attack on California's elections and the fundamental right to vote. Weber called Measure B a colossal waste of time and taxpayer funds, saying its proponents knew it was unlawful but submitted it to voters anyway, and that the state will keep meeting reckless, illegal, and poorly drafted laws in court.
The Attorney General's office also noted that Bonta last week welcomed the U.S. Department of Justice's decision to drop a lawsuit seeking to force California election officials to set aside mail-in ballots from a list of approximately 20,000 individuals it believed were likely noncitizens, after four consecutive losses from the district court up to the U.S. Supreme Court, and that he had also successfully challenged a U.S. Postal Service final rule.
(Source: California Attorney General's Office)
Source: California Attorney General's Office
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：加利福尼亚州议会大厦（存量合规图）。 / Photo: The California State Capitol (verified stock image on file).
