Statewide · General election
California Secretary of State
Tuesday, November 3, 2026
On the ballot
2 certified candidates, listed alphabetically by last name.
Photo: California State Assembly Republican Caucus, via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain Donald P. (Don) Wagner
Has served on the Orange County Board since 2019, and was its chair in 2023 and 2024. He was Mayor of Irvine before that. He also served in the state Assembly, and works as a lawyer.
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Photo: California State Assembly, via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain Shirley N. WeberIncumbent
California's Secretary of State, its top elections officer, a job she has held since 2021. She is the first Black person to hold it. She served four terms in the state Assembly and taught Africana Studies at San Diego State for decades.
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Where they stand
Topic by topic, from each candidate’s own statements and public records.
Government, Elections & Democracy
- Says California's election system should prioritize security, efficiency, accuracy, and accessibility for every eligible voter.
“Californians deserve an excellent election system that is secure, efficient, accurate and accessible to every eligible voter.”
Source → - Supports requiring voters to show identification to vote and backs the statewide voter-ID initiative headed for the 2026 ballot. Source →
- Wants California to count and certify election results faster, arguing the current roughly 30-day window undermines public trust in the outcome.
“is that really a fair election?”
Source → - Says business owners have had trouble filing documents and processing records through the Secretary of State's office and points to that as evidence the office needs better management.
“I've heard from business owners around the state about problems in the secretary of state's office hampering their ability to file documents, process records or fix widespread fraud”
Source → - Criticizes the Secretary of State's office for failing to build a robust CalACCESS system to track and publicly disclose campaign finance filings, calling it wasted public money.
“the current secretary of state has failed to provide a robust CalACCESS system to track and publicly disclose campaign filings, wasting tens of millions of dollars in the process”
Source →
- Says her office is working with local elections officials to protect and expand ballot access, paired with an aggressive statewide voter-outreach campaign.
“Working hand-in-hand with our local elections officials to strengthen, protect, and expand access to the ballot”
Source → - Says she is working to improve transparency in California's elections, lobbyist-registration, and campaign-finance disclosure systems.
“Improving transparency in our elections, lobbyist registration, and campaign finance systems so that every Californian can make an informed decision”
Source → - Frames a priority of restoring trust in her office by fixing delayed financial filings and enforcing rules consistently, with stated bipartisan support. Source →
- Says she is upgrading the Secretary of State's cybersecurity policies to protect California's elections from attempts to undermine them.
“Monitoring and upgrading the Secretary of State's cybersecurity policies to ensure our elections are protected from attempts to undermine our democratic processes”
Source → - Defends California's roughly 30-day ballot-counting and certification timeline, saying getting the count right matters more than getting it fast.
“For me, accuracy is far more important.”
Source →
Candidates are those certified for the official ballot, listed alphabetically by last name. Photos appear only when we have an official, reusable photo of every candidate in the race. Positions are compiled from the candidates’ own statements and public records. We never tell you how to vote.