Let Huntington Beach not a judge decide how the city votes

The ruling is in — Huntington Beach’s election system is changing. Unfortunately, that change is against the will of the voters. Orange County Superior Court Judge Craig Griffin ruled last month that Huntington Beach has to adopt a new voting system, and November is the deadline. Until now, the city has used an “at-large” system for City Council elections.Every seat on the council was voted on by every voter living within the city’s boundaries.But Judge Griffin said that violates the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA), ostensibly because it makes it harder for minorities to win.

He ordered the city to adopt ranked-choice voting instead.In ranked-choice voting, voters rank several candidates in order of preference, rather than just choosing one per seat.It is more complicated than traditional voting.The problem? For starters, ranked-choice voting was never approved by Huntington Beach voters. California Post News: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, WhatsApp, LinkedInCalifornia Post Sports Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, XCalifornia Post Opinion California Post Newsletters: Sign up here!California Post App: Download here!Home delivery: Sign up here!Page Six Hollywood: Sign up here!The judge’s decision should trouble anyone who believes election rules belong to the people — and not the bench.The lawsuit was filed in the name of resident Victor Valladares, but argued by Kevin Shenkman, a Malibu attorney who has spent more than a decade specializing in exactly this kind of lawsuit against California cities.The CVRA lets winning plaintiffs recover attorneys’ fees from the cities they sue, turning this litigation into a business most cities would rather settle than risk losing.Huntington Beach fought the case.

But the city’s legal team was outlitigated by a specialist who does this for a living.That doesn’t make the decision right.After the US Supreme Court’s recent ruling against racial gerrymandering in the Louisiana v.Callais d...