California sues to block Shasta County voting restrictions and photo ID rules

California moved to block Shasta County from remaking its election system after voters approved Measure B, a plan that would sharply restrict vote-by-mail, require government-issued photo ID, and force hand-counted ballots. Attorney General Rob Bonta and Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber filed suit to strike down the measure, saying it collides with state protections that let any registered voter cast a ballot by mail.

Measure B passed in the June 2 primary election with about 55% to 56% support in unofficial results. The citizen initiative, placed on the ballot by petition, would require elections to be held in person on a single day except for limited absentee voters, limit absentee voting to the infirm, military members, and U.S. citizens living overseas, and create a county voter-registration system disconnected from the state database. It also would require voters to present a government-issued photo ID to register and vote in person.

State officials say those provisions cannot stand because California law already allows any registered voter to use a vote-by-mail ballot, and valid vote-by-mail ballots are counted in every California election if returned by the deadline. California generally does not require photo identification for in-person or mail voting, except in limited federal-law situations involving some first-time voters who did not provide certain identifying information. Bonta and Weber said the county measure is an illegal overhaul of local election rules that undermines state election-law protections.

The fight lands in a county that has repeatedly become a national symbol of election skepticism. In January 2023, Shasta County supervisors ended the county’s lease with Dominion Voting Systems and later pushed staff to explore hand-counting ballots and other voting equipment options. That sequence turned the county into a recurring flashpoint in the election-denial movement and set the stage for the latest clash over ballot access and election administration.

Supporters of Measure B argued the changes would make elections more secure and transparent. Opponents and state officials warned that the measure would disenfranchise voters and disrupt election administration before November’s election. The Shasta County Board of Supervisors was scheduled to discuss the lawsuit in closed session on June 16, as county leaders weighed how to respond to a state challenge that could shape similar fights far beyond Northern California.