Last Updated May 2025
April 7, 2025: The People of the State of California vs. City of Huntington Beach
In March 2024, the voters of the City of Huntington Beach approved an initiative to amend the city charter to allow officials to enact a voter ID requirement for local elections. The measure is set to take effect in 2026. California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) and Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber (D) sued the City in April 2024, arguing that state law supersedes the City Charter under the “home rule doctrine.” On April 7, 2025, the Superior Court of Orange County denied California’s petition to invalidate the charter amendment. In a statement, California Attorney General Rob Bonta stated that the CA DOJ looks “forward to moving on and appealing the decision…[and] remain confident that Measure A will ultimately be struck down.”
April 3, 2025: State of California v. Trump
On April 3, 2025, nineteen states filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts naming President Donald Trump, the U.S. Attorney General, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and its director and commissioners, and the Secretary of Defense as Defendants. They challenged Executive Order 14248, titled “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections,” signed on March 25, 2025, alleging that by purporting to impose election rules on states, the President exceeded his constitutional powers and unlawfully infringed on congressional and state authority in violation of Separation of Powers, the Administrative Procedure Act, the National Voter Registration Act, and the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act. The Plaintiffs sought declaratory and injunctive relief, as well as attorney fees. The case is ongoing.
March 13, 2025: Issa v. Weber
On March 13, 2025, California Congressman Darrell Issa (R-58) sued the Secretary of State of California in federal court to prevent the state from counting mail ballots that were cast by Election Day and received within the seven days following Election Day. Plaintiff seeks a declaratory judgment that any California law allowing ballots to be received and counted after Election Day, violate the First and Fourteenth Amendment, the Elections Clause, 2 U.S.C § 1. Plaintiff also seeks a permanent injunction prohibiting Secretary of State Weber from implementing and enforcing those laws.