MAYOR GRACEY VAN DER MARK (OC Tribune photo).

By Daniella Moreau/Orange County Tribune 

Proposed city charter amendments on voter identification and which flags can be displayed on city property will each stand alone on the primary ballot after the Huntington Beach City Council voted Thursday night during a special meeting.

There have been concerns about the bundling of items, so the council voted to make the voter ID stand-alone, the flag ordinance stand-alone, and measure L bundled with the biennial budget passed 6-1, with Rhonda Bolton in opposition.

Measure L includes the terms of the city council, attorney, clerk, and treasurer, meetings and locations, quorums, proceedings and ruling of order, and cancellation of meetings.

The flag ordinance states that the city can only fly the American flag, the POW/MIA flag, the State of California flag, the Huntington Beach city flag, the County of Orange flag, or any of the six branches of service flags, including the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and Space Force. During the Summer Olympics, the Mayor can order the display of the official Olympic flags for four weeks prior to the dates of the games and for up to two weeks after.

In a discussion for potential Charter amendments to be considered for the March 5, 2024, Statewide Primary Election, the city council formally voted on each item to determine whether it should be on the ballot.

Measures that passed to be placed on the primary ballot include:

• The biennial budget, which is a two-year budget, passed 6-1 with Councilmember Rhonda Bolton in opposition.
• The voter ID and the flags ordinance passed 4-3, with Mayor Tony Strickland, Mayor Pro Tem Gracey Van Der Mark, and councilmembers Pat Burns and Casey McKeon in favor. In opposition were council members Natalie Moser, Dan Kalmick, and Rhonda Bolton.

In response to the voter ID measure, Kalmick said, “I don’t see any timely reason to move these forward in March.”

Bolton also commented on the voter ID measure, “We still don’t know how much this is going to cost, we still don’t know how we’re going to do it, so I don’t know why we are still talking about it.”

Moser said, “I think it’s disingenuous to say that it’s going to increase voter turnout. It’s going to do the opposite. It’s disenfranchising our residents.”

Van Der Mark said, “In the state of California, you can get an ID at any age, so we are not disenfranchising students.”

McKeon said, “This has nothing to do with voter fraud. This is increasing faith in your elections and increasing voter turnout.”

When the voter ID measure passed, the audience responded loudly.

In response to the flag ordinance, Bolton said, “This will just make a mess of the charter. And this is what happens when you try to legislate exclusion; you constantly find yourself having to go back and put stuff in.”

The motion on how to fill council vacancies passed 6-0 with Bolton abstaining.

The next council meeting is scheduled for Oct. 17 in its council chambers at 2000 Main St. (at Yorktown Avenue).