Judge slaps down California MAGA county’s bid to crush mail-in ballots and bring in strict election rules

A judge has temporarily blocked a sweeping election overhaul in conservative Shasta County that sought to sharply restrict mail-in voting, require hand-counted ballots, and impose identification rules on voters.

The preliminary injunction, issued Friday, puts the brakes on Measure B just months before the November election.

The measure was approved by Shasta County voters but is now at the center of a legal fight over whether a county can rewrite election rules that are governed by California law.

The ruling came after California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Secretary of State Shirley Weber sued to invalidate the measure, arguing that it conflicts with state election requirements.

Measure B would have moved Shasta County toward largely one-day, in-person elections, while requiring government-issued photo identification for voters casting ballots at polling places.

It also would have severely limited the use of mail and absentee ballots and required election officials to hand-count votes.

The measure also sought to establish a separate county voter-registration system rather than relying on California’s statewide system.

Bonta’s office argued that Shasta County does not have the authority to create its own election system, even though it operates as a charter county.

“There can be no serious dispute that Measure B — a voter initiative to establish a county specific elections system in Shasta County — is unlawful,” Bonta’s office said in its request for the injunction.

The state warned that allowing the measure to take effect could disrupt elections in a county with more than 116,000 registered voters so close to the November general election.

When the lawsuit was filed in June, Bonta called the measure “legally indefensible” and said it directly conflicted with California law.

“No city or county gets to unilaterally rewrite our election rules,” Bonta said.

Weber likewise argued that the measure would roll back voting access by eliminating widespread mail voting and imposing additional barriers on voters.

The county has now said the November election will proceed under the existing rules while the court fight continues.

The legal challenge comes amid a broader clash in California over election administration and efforts by conservative officials and activists to impose tougher voting requirements based on concerns about election security and fraud.

Measure B’s supporters had sought to make Shasta County’s elections more reliant on in-person voting and hand counts. But state officials maintain that California already has safeguards governing voter registration, ballot handling and election administration.

The fight could have implications beyond Shasta County, particularly as California voters prepare to consider Proposition 39 in November.

That statewide proposal would establish additional voter-identification and citizenship-verification requirements, including requiring voters to present certain government-issued identification or provide part of their Social Security number on ballot envelopes.

For now, Measure B remains frozen, leaving Shasta County’s November election to proceed under the system already used across California.

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