REDDING, Calif. — The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California filed an amicus brief alongside law firm Cooley LLP supporting California’s legal challenge to Shasta County’s Measure B, arguing the proposed voting measure would significantly restrict ballot access for thousands of voters, according to a Monday press release.
The measure, which would appear on the November midterm ballot, would significantly alter how county residents cast their ballots by eliminating alternative voting methods that workers, seniors and people with disabilities rely on.
According to the statement, Measure B would “gut vote-by-mail, eliminate early voting, require photo ID at the polls, and mandate hand-counting of ballots” if enacted.
The ballot initiative, if it becomes law, would limit absentee voting to people who are infirm, members of the military and U.S. citizens living overseas. Nearly all other voters would be required to cast ballots in person on Election Day, according to the organization.
The voting proposal threatens to disenfranchise a significant portion of Shasta County’s voting population.
“More than 85% of Shasta County residents cast mail ballots,” the statement said. “Measure B would take that option away from nearly all of them.”
The ACLU of Northern California stressed that “[s]eniors, people with disabilities, rural residents who live far from polling places, and working people who can’t take time off on a single Election Day to vote in person” would all be negatively affected by Measure B.
“Measure B would strip away the way more than 85 percent of Shasta County residents already vote, replacing it with a single Election Day that would disenfranchise countless eligible voters,” Grayce Zelphin, a senior attorney with the ACLU of Northern California, said, according to the press release.
The contested measure would also require voters to present a valid photo ID, creating additional financial and logistical barriers to democratic participation. The high error rates associated with hand-counting ballots would further exacerbate those concerns.
“Local governments don’t get to write their own voter ID laws,” Zelphin said. “The courts and the legislature have already settled this question.”
The filing announcement stated that the measure “doesn’t strengthen election integrity as its supporters claim.” Instead, it creates new obstacles for voters who already face barriers to participating in elections.
According to the press release, the ACLU has “mounted a full-court press to protect the vote” in the face of voter suppression tactics implemented across the United States. This includes lawsuits challenging the Trump administration’s efforts to obtain California voting records.
The ACLU is also working to defeat Proposition 39, a California November ballot measure that the organization said was backed by Trump allies and would establish a statewide voter ID requirement. According to the press release, the proposal would “disenfranchise millions of voters across the state” if passed.
“Measure B is straight out of the same anti-democratic playbook,” the announcement said.
The California lawsuit challenging the proposal was originally filed in the Third District Court of Appeal by Attorney General Rob Bonta and Secretary of State Shirley Weber, according to the statement.
The appellate court determined the case should first be heard at the trial court level, and it is now proceeding in Shasta County Superior Court.
“With the November midterm election approaching, we urge the court to act swiftly to strike down Measure B and protect every eligible voter’s access to the ballot,” the ACLU of Northern California urged.
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