Huntington Beach is set to implement a new voting system after an Orange County Superior Court judge ruled that the city's current at-large election method violates the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA). The order, issued by Judge Craig Griffin last month, mandates the adoption of ranked-choice voting by November. Under the at-large system, all city council seats were voted on by every registered voter within the city limits. Griffin's ruling states this system makes it more difficult for minority groups to win seats.
Ranked-choice voting requires voters to rank candidates in order of preference, a departure from the traditional single-choice ballot. Critics of the decision argue that this change was not approved by Huntington Beach voters and that election rules should be determined by the electorate, not the judiciary. The lawsuit was brought forward by a resident but argued by attorney Kevin Shenkman, who specializes in CVRA litigation.
Despite the city's opposition, its legal team was reportedly outmatched by the plaintiff's specialist attorney. While Judge Griffin acknowledged that the case might have been unsuccessful under the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling against racial gerrymandering in Louisiana v. Callais, he based his decision on the CVRA's independent state constitutional authority. Griffin favored ranked-choice voting as a less drastic alternative to dividing the city into separate voting districts.
However, the Orange County registrar has indicated that the county's current voting system is not equipped to handle ranked-choice elections, necessitating new machinery. Implementing this system would also require all seven city council seats to be up for election simultaneously, potentially shortening the terms of some current council members.
Ranked-choice voting has faced public resistance in other areas. In 2024, ballot measures to adopt the system were rejected in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, and Oregon, though Alaska narrowly retained it. The Institute for Responsive Government has noted that ranked-choice voting is not a universal solution.
This judicial mandate comes as California voters prepare to decide on Proposition 39 in November, which proposes measures such as voter ID requirements and citizenship verification. Public support for such measures remains high, with an October 2024 Gallup poll indicating that 84% of Americans favor photo ID at the polls and 83% support proof of citizenship for initial voter registration.
The imposition of ranked-choice voting by judicial decree, rather than through voter approval, is seen by critics as undermining self-government. The argument is that if ranked-choice voting is a superior system, its adoption should be advocated for and approved by voters at the ballot box. The current situation in Huntington Beach, where election rules were altered through litigation rather than public consensus, is viewed as a loss for local democratic control.