ELECTION COPS: A national battle over 2020 election-fraud conspiracies is still playing out in conservative pockets of California. Democrats in Sacramento aren't having it. State lawmakers in the past year have introduced more than a half-dozen bills targeting legal gray areas in state law that dictates how local officials run elections and manage sensitive voting records. Their approach aims to stifle conservatives in local government looking to flex their atrophied political muscle in municipal voting, where controversial policy changes are often driven by suspicions of voter fraud. The issues at hand — voting records retention and voter ID laws — have pitted some hard-right city and county leaders who want to set their own rules against state officials who say it’s their job to ensure elections are uniform statewide. “We can’t have local jurisdictions implementing their own voting requirements,” state Sen. Dave Min — an Orange County Democrat running for Rep. Katie Porter’s open House seat — told Playbook today. One of the proposals that cleared the Assembly Elections Committee today, from Min, would bar local governments from establishing voter ID laws — a direct response to a controversial ballot measure approved by voters in Huntington Beach this March that mandates residents show voter ID at the polls. The attorney general and secretary of state in April sued to invalidate the law, arguing it interferes with state voting rights protections. Huntington Beach maintains that its charter city status gives it home rule over elections administration. Min is pitching his bill as a simple way to keep things clear for voters. “Huntington Beach … is engaged in a culture war right now,” Min said at today’s hearing. “They're trying to kowtow to certain media on this, rather than trying to solve a national problem.” Republican Assemblymember Tom Lackey, who voted against Min’s bill, argued ID is required “in all sorts of circumstances.” “Confirming you are who you are, that’s all we’re asking,” he said. Another bill heard today from Democratic state Sen. Steve Bradford would clarify record-keeping procedures for secure elections data and increase the secretary of state’s regulatory power over local elections. His bill and similar legislation from Assemblymember Gail Pellerin, a former Santa Cruz elections official, come after a conservative activist in Nevada County successfully sued for access to county records from the 2020 presidential election. Bradford’s bill breezed through committee with backing from Secretary of State Shirley Weber and the California Association of Clerks and Election Officials. It’s likely to be approved if brought to the Assembly floor, given the body voted 80-0 on a similar measure last year. But it’s not popular in Shasta County, where an ultraconservative county board majority has pursued unfounded claims of voter fraud. The county has argued Bradford’s bill creates “adverse effects” to public trust in elections, something it “does not take lightly in such a prominent election year.” “This bill is directed directly at Shasta County,” said Shasta County Supervisor Patrick Jones. “It’s just another deliberate — shocking, but deliberate — method from the state to be less transparent, and ultimately I believe this is just a tyrannical move.” If you recall: Shasta County’s far-right turn has caused headaches for election officials. The county dumped Dominion voting machines in favor of a 100 percent hand-counted election last year, with officials behind the push repeating the discredited allegation that the machines aided widespread voter fraud in Trump’s 2020 election loss. Pro-Trump election denialists, including MyPillow exec Mike Lindell, endorsed the move. A last-minute bill signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in October forced Shasta County to tabulate votes by machine. Shasta County’s attempt at a hand-counted election came with mixed consequences for Jones and Supervisor Kevin Crye, who spearheaded the effort. While Crye narrowly survived a recall, voters denied Jones another term in March. Still, Shasta County’s concerns found favor with at least one state lawmaker: Republican Assemblymember Bill Essayli, who voted against Bradford’s measure in committee today despite supporting a nearly identical proposal last year. His office said Shasta County’s opposition prompted his reversal. “To me, this is just one bill in a line of others that is eroding transparency in our elections,” Essayli told Playbook today. IT’S WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. This is California Playbook PM, a POLITICO newsletter that serves as an afternoon temperature check on California politics and a look at what our policy reporters are watching. Got tips or suggestions? Shoot an email to tkatzenberger@politico.com. | 
