An appeals court declined to hear the attorney general’s lawsuit against the county, but didn’t close the door on it.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) – A California appeals court on Thursday denied an emergency request by the state’s attorney general to overturn a Shasta County election law that he has called illegal.
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals decided not to hear Attorney General Rob Bonta’s challenge to the district’s Measure B, which adds additional requirements like showing photo ID while voting.
The measure, which received about 55% of the vote June 2 in the North State district, would require government-issued identification to register and vote, largely eliminate mail-in and early voting, mandate hand-counted ballots and create a county voter registration system separate from California.
The appellate court has not made any decision on the merits of the lawsuit.
“The denial is without prejudice to Petitioners seeking expedited relief in the trial court and for rehearing in this court upon evidence that Petitioners attempted to obtain expedited relief in the trial court and the court failed to act in a timely manner,” the court wrote.
Neither Bontas’ office nor Shasta County could immediately be reached for comment.
Bonta submitted his complaint June 12, seeking a quick decision.
He asked the appeals court to quash the measure, halt its implementation and undo any steps already taken to implement it. He wanted a quick resolution, as the general election is on November 3 and voters need certainty on how to register, if their registration is active and where they can vote.
Shasta County is a charter county, which gives it authority to pass certain local laws in conflict with the state. However, Bonta has said that he cannot fix the elections. State law prohibits photo identification requirements and access to mail-in voting and early voting is guaranteed.
This means, regardless of its own ideas on state election laws, the county cannot create or implement laws that are inconsistent with or impede state regulation of the election process, Bonta said.
The attorney general has said that Measure B came from the group Save Shasta Elections. She began collecting signatures for the measure in the spring of 2025. County officials wanted to avoid drafting the title and summary of the measure because the proposal could not legally be approved through the ballot process.
A judge denied the request. Later that year, the county recorder determined the measure qualified for the ballot, and the Board of Supervisors voted to place it before voters on June 2.
Another judge also refused to block the measure from appearing on the ballot, finding that any challenge to its legality was best dealt with after the election.
Shasta County has butted heads with the state over elections before.
In January 2023, county supervisors terminated Shasta County’s voting system lease with Dominion Voting Systems. They later directed staff to develop manual vote counting procedures and select a new voting equipment vendor for disabled voters.
Dominion became a national flashpoint after conspiracy theories falsely claimed its cars were used to sway the 2020 presidential election in favor of Joe Biden. In 2023, Fox News agreed to pay Dominion $787.5 million DETERMINED a defamation suit.
The 2023 motion by Shasta County supervisors led to the adoption of a state law which prohibits the manual counting of votes in a jurisdiction with over 1,000 registered voters.
The result of the vote between California and Shasta County is also playing at the national level.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday canceled a signing ceremony for a bipartisan housing bill, saying he would withhold his signature until Congress passes the Save America Act.
That act, which Trump has been urging Congress to pass for months, would rework voting laws across the country. It would require Americans to provide identification and proof of citizenship to vote. The highly controversial measure has been tied up in the Senate, where even some Republicans are skeptical of its provisions.
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