AG Bonta and Secretary of State Weber today filed a lawsuit seeking to strike down Shasta County’s Measure B, which would illegally overhaul the County’s election system and undermine state election law protections. Among other things, Measure B requires voters to present a government-issued photo identification to register to vote and vote in person, eliminates vote-by-mail and most early voting options, mandates the hand-counting of ballots, and creates a separate county voter registration system disconnected from the state’s uniform system. Measure B limits elections to a single in-person Election Day, with limited exceptions for voters with disabilities, members of the military, and U.S. citizens living abroad. The lawsuit was filed in the California Third District Court of Appeal.

“Measure B is legally indefensible. It directly conflicts with state law and threatens to upend the orderly administration of elections. The stakes are especially high because voters in Shasta County are just months away from casting their ballots in the November midterms. We are confident that the law is on our side and that Measure B will be struck down expeditiously. No city or county gets to unilaterally rewrite our election rules.” -AG Bonta