California Bill to Ban Locally Adopted Voter ID Requirements Advances

A California bill to ban local governments from setting their own voter ID requirements is now headed to the Senate Floor after passing in two senate committees. Introduced by Sen. Dave Min, Senate Bill 1174 proposes to ban local governments such as Huntington Beach—where voters recently approved its city council could impose such an identification requirement—from enacting such and makes clear the state has “exclusive jurisdiction” when it comes to the voter verification process statewide, according to a May 1 press release from the senator. The Democrat from Irvine said despite “zero evidence” of voter fraud, Huntington Beach put such an issue before voters and his bill would “put to rest” any notion that cities can “meddle” with state voter protections, such as requiring voters show identification when voting in person....