The California Secretary of State is the state’s chief elections officer and keeper of public records, overseeing one of the most consequential constitutional offices in California government. The office was established in California’s first constitution in 1849 and has been independently elected since 1862.
The Secretary of State’s responsibilities include:
- Overseeing the administration of all federal and state elections in California — including certifying candidates and ballot measures for statewide elections, issuing official voter information guides, and ensuring votes are properly counted and certified.
- Maintaining and enforcing California’s campaign finance disclosure laws, managing the Cal-Access database of campaign contributions and expenditures for all state and local races.
- Maintaining the state archives and the California Digital Library, and registering notaries public statewide.
- Processing business entity filings — registering corporations, LLCs, partnerships, and other business structures — making it one of the office’s highest-volume functions, handling millions of filings each year.
- Maintaining the database of registered voters and certifying election results, including conducting the official canvass after each election.
- Managing the state’s lobbyist registration and disclosure system, and publishing the official California Roster of state and local officials.
Race Synopsis
The 2026 race is a rematch between the political poles of California election administration. Incumbent Shirley Weber — the first Black Secretary of State in California history — is seeking a second full term after overseeing landmark expansions of voting access, including the state’s permanent shift to universal mail-in voting, while weathering criticism over California’s notoriously slow ballot-counting process. She faces her most serious challenge from Republican Don Wagner, an Orange County Supervisor and former Assemblymember who has made election integrity, mandatory voter ID, and faster ballot certification the centerpieces of his campaign. Two Green Party candidates — Michael Feinstein and Gary Blenner — are also on the ballot.
Key themes in the race include:
- Shirley Weber (D, incumbent) emphasizes expanding and protecting voting access as a civil rights issue, points to record voter participation under her tenure, and pledges to improve election cybersecurity and transparency. She is a staunch opponent of mandatory voter ID laws, which she argues disproportionately disenfranchise low-income voters, voters of color, and seniors.
- Don Wagner (R) runs on a platform of “election integrity,” calling for mandatory voter ID at the polls, faster ballot counting and certification timelines, cleaning the voter rolls of ineligible registrants, and modernizing the business filing system. As an Orange County Supervisor he pushed for the release of voter information to the Trump administration’s Department of Justice over alleged voting irregularities.
- Michael Feinstein (Green) is a longtime electoral reform consultant and former Santa Monica City Council member who advocates for ranked-choice voting and other structural reforms to California’s electoral system.
- Gary Blenner (Green) is a teacher who also ran in the 2022 Secretary of State primary, receiving approximately 3% of the vote.
The June 2, 2026 primary is a top-two contest; the two highest vote-getters advance to the November 3, 2026 general election regardless of party. Most election analysts rate this race as Safe Democratic in the general election — Weber won her 2022 full-term election with 60.1% of the vote — but the race is notable for its sharp partisan divide over the fundamental question of how California should administer its elections. The contest is shaping up as a referendum on ballot access, counting speed, and election integrity. — CalMatters, LAist
Candidates
Shirley N. Weber (D, incumbent)
Don Wagner (R)
Michael Feinstein (Green)
Gary Blenner (Green)
Media Coverage
CalMatters Voter Guide – Secretary of State
LAist: Secretary of State — Who’s Running and Why It Matters
KPBS: 2026 Primary Election — Secretary of State Race Explainer
CalMatters: California’s Race for Secretary of State Shows Partisan Divide Over How to Count Ballots
Orange County Register: OC Supervisor Don Wagner Wants California Secretary of State as Next Job
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