STATE: Secretary of State

Note: this post will be periodically updated! (10/07/2026)

TOP * Shirley N. Weber (D) * Donald P. Wagner (R)

VOTER GUIDE – QUICK LINKS:

Secretary of State – Vote for (1)

(LAList) The secretary of state oversees the administration of all federal and state elections in California, including certifying candidates and initiatives for statewide ballots, issuing voter guides and ensuring votes are properly counted. The office also handles corporate business filings, maintains the state archives and manages a database of lobbyist registration and campaign finance disclosures.

Reading List:

ENDORSED Shirley N. Weber (D) – California Secretary of State

TOP * Shirley N. Weber (D) * Donald P. Wagner (R)

RECOMMENDATION: YES! She’s done a good job so far!

Back to Top

  • Age: 77
  • Residence: San Diego
  • Education: B.A., M.A., and Ph.D., all in communication, from UCLA
  • Employment & experience:
    • California Secretary of State (2021-present)
    • State Assemblymember (2012-2021)
    • President, National Council for Black Studies (2002–2006)
    • Board Member & President, San Diego USD Board of Education (1988–1996)
    • Professor & Chair, Department of Africana Studies, San Diego State University (1972–2010)
    • Faculty, Los Angeles City College and California State University (early 1970s)
  • Priorities:
    • Work with local elections officials to strengthen, protect, and expand access to the ballot
    • Improve transparency in our elections, lobbyist registration, and campaign finance systems so that every Californian can make an informed decision about what issues, causes or candidates to support
    • Monitor and upgrade the Secretary of State’s cybersecurity policies to ensure our elections are protected from attempts to undermine our democratic processes
  • Contributions  (All PACs that support this candidate may not be identifiable.)
    • Contributions (as of 6/30/2026): $724,781
      • Top Contributors:
      • California State Council of Service Employees $44,200
      • California Teachers Association for Better Citizenship $39,200
      • Northern California Carpenters Regional Council $39,200
      • United Domestic Workers of America Action Fund $39,200
      • Service Employees International Union Local 721 $23,600
      • Link to more detailed contribution info: (https://www.transparencyusa.org/ca/candidate/shirley-weber)
  • Notable Endorsements:
    • Rob Bonta, Attorney General
    • Fiona Ma, State Treasurer
    • Malia Cohen, Controller
    • Organizations: Planned Parenthood, Jane Fonda Climate PAC,, Santa Barbara Women’s PAC
    • Unions – AFSCME, SEIU, firefighters, laborers, teachers, steamfitters, communications workers, nurses, government employees, electricians
  • Links:

(LAList – See list of Direct Contributions to Candidates) “Weber, the daughter of Arkansas sharecroppers who fled the Jim Crow south, became the first Black secretary of state in California history by appointment in 2021, after serving eight years in the Assembly. She then easily won a full four-year term in 2022. Weber’s had an eventful tenure, overseeing the state’s permanent implementation of universal mail-in voting, administering high-profile elections such as the recall against Gov. Gavin Newsom, taking local governments to court over voting laws and fielding claims of election fraud. She pledged to expand voting access, improve transparency in election filings and enhance cybersecurity protections in a second term.“

CADEM
GOOD club
dem. party of san fernando

Antelope Valley Democrats for Change
Los Angeles dem. Party
California Young Democrats




Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region

Planned parenthood
California's Women's listSanta Barbara Women's Political commNATIONAL WOMEN'S CAUCUS

equality CA

California Black Women’s Collective PAC

Fiona Ma

Dr. LaShae Sharp Collins, Assemblymember
CA fed. of teachersCA Teachers association
NATIONAL UNION OF HEALTH WORKERS

AFSCME District Council 36
IBEW NATIONAL


UDWA/AFSCME Local 3930
AFSCMECentral Coast Labor Council
Southern California District Council

LOCAL LEADERS
Todd Gloria, Mayor of San Diego
Barbara Lee, Mayor of Oakland
Holly Mitchell, Los Angeles Supervisor
Monica Montgomery, San Diego Supervisor

(knock-LA.com) “The secretary of state oversees state and federal elections and manages the corporate filings for businesses, nonprofits, and lobbyists. Given the attacks on free and fair elections by the Trump administration and the Supreme Court, this normally sleepy office becomes an important line of defense. California’s elections are slow to be certified, and our data on lobbyists and campaign finance is hard to navigate.

Weber is endorsed by a broad coalition of labor, activists, and elected officials. Her goals for the coming term include strengthening cybersecurity and expanding voter registration outreach to high school and college students and the formerly incarcerated. She is also a consistent opponent of GOP-led “voter ID” disenfranchisement schemes.”

(cahighways.com) Her Secretary of State bio notes: Shirley Nash Weber, Ph.D., was nominated to serve as California Secretary of State by Governor Gavin Newsom on December 22, 2020 and sworn into office on January 29, 2021. Voters elected her for a full term on November 8, 2022. Dr. Weber is California’s first Black Secretary of State and only the fifth African American to serve as a state constitutional officer in California’s 175-year history. Dr. Weber attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where she received her Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctorate degrees by the age of 26. Prior to receiving her Doctorate, she became a professor at San Diego State University (SDSU) at the age of 23. She also taught at California State University at Los Angeles and Los Angeles City College before coming to SDSU. She retired from the Department of Africana Studies after 40 years as a faculty member and serving several terms as department chair. Before her appointment, Dr. Weber served four terms as an Assemblymember representing California’s 79th Assembly District, which includes parts of the City of San Diego as well as several cities and communities in the San Diego region. Dr. Weber also served as a Member and Chair of the San Diego Unified School District and has twice served as a California Elector, including chairing the California College of Presidential Electors on December 14, 2020. She has fought to secure and expand civil rights for all Californians, including restoring voting rights for individuals who have completed their prison term.

Her priorities page indicates that her first priority is to defend voting rights. She wants to fix delayed financial filings in the SOS office, enforce rules equally, and ensure early bipartisan support for being fair and principled. She wants to encourage Californians to Vote: Running and aggressive outreach campaign to every corner of the state to urge Californians to get involved in the electoral process — from registering high school and college students to vote to helping members of the public get involved in our elections. She wants to work with local elections officials to strengthen, protect, and expand access to the ballot; to improve transparency in our elections, lobbyist registration, and campaign finance systems so that every Californian can make an informed decision about what issues, causes or candidates to support; to monitor and upgrade the Secretary of State’s cybersecurity policies to ensure our elections are protected from attempts to undermine our democratic processes; and to revamp the voter education outreach programs for the formerly incarcerated, especially in light of the passage of Proposition 17, which ensured Californians on parole have the right to vote, to ensure all Californians have a voice in upcoming elections.

She has pushed back against GOP attempts to restrict voters rights, and defended the right to voter privacy by refusing the Trump administration’s request for voter rolls (the lawsuit from the administration against her was subsequently dismissed).

She has a large number of endorsements, including unions, Democratic clubs, and elected leaders (although, surprisingly, not Newsom).  She has been endorsed by the SF Chronicle.

The California Secretary of State is an elected state executive officer established by the California Constitution. He or she serves as the state’s chief election officer, keeps the state’s key documents including the constitution and Great Seal, and keeps the state archives. Additionally, the secretary of state registers businesses in the state, commissions notaries public, and manages state ballot initiatives. The secretary of state is elected to four-year terms, concurrent with the other constitutional officers of California, and is restricted to two terms.

Given the shenanigans from the Republican party with elections, this is a vital office for California. I do not want a Trumpian Republican in this office. The current Secretary of State did a great job with the 2020 and 2024 elections. We need a Secretary of State that will vigorously defend the state’s election system from interference from the Trump administration and MAGA attempts to restrict who can vote, who will not put roadblocks or tests in the way of legitimate voters. I want a Secretary of State that will be fair and unbiased regarding the reporting of results. Our election system works in California, and I’m not inclined to change what isn’t broken.

The LA Times has an analysis of the race here.

Donald P. (Don) Wagner (R) – Orange County Supervisor

TOP * Shirley N. Weber (D) * Donald P. Wagner (R)

RECOMMENDATION: No. This guy has the normal MAGA-rabble, PLUS 5-stars from the Election Forum. If you want someone to screw up elections, reduce access to poor, elderly and working people, and cost us more, this is the guy to do it!

Back to Top

  • Age: 65
  • Residence: Irvine
  • Education: B.A. in English from UCLA, J.D. from UC College of the Law, San Francisco
  • Employment & experience:
    • Supervisor, Orange County Board of Supervisors (2019-present)
    • Mayor of Irvine (2016-2019)
    • State Assemblymember (2010-2016)
    • South County Community College Board of Trustees (1998-2010)
    • First president of the OC Chapter of the Federalist Society
    • Business and real estate attorney (1987-present)
  • Priorities:
    • Ensure only eligible voters cast ballots, clean up state voter rolls, and support measures to protect election integrity
    • Endorses the California Voter ID ballot initiative to require voter identification at polls
    • Accelerate the ballot-counting process so results are produced quickly and efficiently
    • Streamline the business programs division to cut red tape
  • Contributions  (All PACs that support this candidate may not be identifiable.)
    • Contributions (as of 6/30/2026, ): $600,662
      • Top Contributors:
      • Acijet Orange County (operates an executive aviation facility at John Wayne airport) $19,600
      • Building Industry Association of So Cal $19,600
      • Marcel Phimister $19,600
      • Orange County Professional Firefighters $19,600
      • The Lincoln Club of Orange County $19,600
      • Brian Maryott (financial planner, former councilmember at San Juan Capistrano) $11,000
      • Link to more detailed contribution info: (https://www.transparencyusa.org/ca/candidate/don-wagner)
  • Notable Endorsements:
    • Former Governor Pete Wilson
    • Michael Antonovich, Former State Assemblymember, Former Chairman of the CA Republican Party, Former Member of the LA County Board of Supervisors
    • Various mayors, county supervisors, and state senators and assemblymembers
  • Links:

Endorsements: https://wagnerforcalifornia.com/


Bruce McPherson
California Secretary of State (Ret.)		Bill Jones
California Secretary of State (Ret.)		Pete Wilson
Former California Governor

Mr. Wagner answered the questionnaire put out by this Christian Nationalist organization with enough rigor to achieve their 5-star “Strongest Endorsement.” Holy smokes, don’t put this man in charge of us! Shirley Weber got a 2-star review, which means she probably ignored this whole toxic mess.

SUPPORTERS
– Dick Ackerman, Former State Senator
– Joel Anderson, San Diego Board of Supervisors, Former State Senator
– Michael Antonovich, Former State Assemblymember, Former Chairman, CA Republican Party, Former Member, LA County Board of Supervisors
– Debbie Arnold, Former San Luis Obispo County Supervisor
– Don Barnes, Sheriff, Orange County
– Randy Berholtz, Former CAGOP Secretary
– Ken Calvert, Member, US House of Representatives, R-Corona
– Tara Campbell, Councilmember, Yorba Linda
– Michael Carroll, Irvine City Councilmember/ Great Park Chairman
– Phil Chen, State Assemblyman, Orange County
– Dennis Cole, Fountain Valley School Board
– Connie Conway, Former US Representative, R-Tulare
– Thomas Del Beccaro, Former Chairman, CA Republican Party
– Jim Desmond, San Diego County Board of Supervisors
– Diane Dixon, Assemblymember, Newport Beach
– David Garofalo, Former Mayor, Huntington Beach
– Martin Welsh Garrick, Former President, San Diego Lincoln Club, Former Assemblymember
– Beth Gaines, Former Assemblymember, Sacramento
– Shannon Grove,State Senator, San Bernardino/Tulare/Kern Counties, Former State Assemblymember, United States Army (Ret.}
– Jan C. Harnik, Former Mayor and City Councilwoman, Palm Desert
– Bob Huff, Former State Senator
– Natasha Johnson, Assemblymember
– Brian Jones, State Senate Republican Leader, Former State Assemblymember
– Nicol Jones, Mayor, Villa Park
– Tom Lackey, CA State Assemblyman
– Alexandra Macedo, CA State Assemblywoman, San Joaquin Valley
– Bryan Maryott, Former Mayor, San Juan Capistrano
– Steve Mensinger, Former Mayor, Costa Mesa,Crystal Miles, Villa Park City Councilmember, Former Mayor, Villa Park
– Glenn Miller, Mayor, City of Indio
– Fred Minagar, Former Mayor, Laguna Niguel
– Mike Morrell, Former State Senator, San Bernardino, Former State Assemblymember
– Kevin Muldoon, Former Mayor, Newport Beach
– Mike Munzing, Councilmember, Aliso Viejo
– Janet Nguyen, Member, Orange County Board of Supervisors, Former State Senator
– Lloyd Pareira, Merced County Supervisor
– Nitesh Patel, Mayor Pro Tem, La Palma
– John Peschong, Member, San Luis Obispo Board of Supervisors
– Chuck Poochigian, Former State Senator
– Curt Pringle, Former Speaker, CA State Assembly
– Former Mayor, Costa Mesa
– Jeff Reisig, Yolo County District Attorney
– James Righeimer, Former Mayor, Costa Mesa
– Vincent Rossini, Former Mayor, Villa Park
– Kelly Seyarto, State Senator, Inland Empire
– Jim Silva, Former Member, Orange County Board of Supervisors, Former State Assemblymember
– Dan Slater, Mayor, City of Orange
– Karen Spiegel, Riverside County Supervisor
– Michelle Steel, Former Member, House of Representatives
– Shawn Steel, Former Chairman, California Republican Party
– Marc Steinorth, Former State Assemblyman, Former Rancho Cucamongo City Councilmember
– Tony Strickland, CA State Senator, Former Assemblymember, Former Mayor, Huntington Beach
– Gracey Van Der Mark, Former Mayor and Current City/Councilwoman – Huntington Beach
– Scott Voigts, Mayor, Lake Forest
– Mimi Walters, Former Member, US House of Representatives,Former State Senator, Irvine

Election Forum gave 5 stars to Mr. Wagner! 5 stars means he’s as far right as the scale goes. That is really bad. We don’t know which questionnaire he took, but we know he must have done “well” on the MANHATTAN DECLARATION and the FAMILIES FIRST PLEDGE.

Why do right-wing extremists like Donald? (Robyn Nordell) Don Wagner fully supports the Voter ID initiative and is running for Secretary of State to make sure:

(LAList – See list of Direct Contributions to Candidates) “Wagner, an Orange County supervisor, former mayor of Irvine and ex-state assemblymember, is running on a platform of election integrity. As supervisor, he criticized the state’s COVID-19 response, questioned the county’s investment in diversity, equity and inclusion programs and pushed for the release of sensitive voter information to President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice over claims of voting irregularities. He supports requiring voter ID at the polls and criticizes Weber for the state’s slow ballot-counting process.“ (Note from Indivisible Ventura – this latter bit – “slow ballot counting” is hilarious. They all advocate for hand counting, which is both slow and inaccurate.)

(cahighways.com) Donald P. Wagner (R) Wikipedia notes that Wagner currently serves as a member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, 3rd district. He is the current board chair. He previously served as mayor of Irvine, California and as a Republican member of the California State Assembly, representing the 68th district, which includes portions of Orange County. Wagner received a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Juris Doctor in 1987 from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law and was admitted to the California Bar in the same year.

Wagner’s website indicates that he fully supports the Voter ID initiative that just qualified for the ballot. If voters approve it, they would be required to show a government-issued ID each time they go to the polls, while mail-in ballots would need the last-four digits of an ID, such as a driver’s license. The secretary of state and county election offices would also be required to verify voters’ registration each time they vote. Currently, voters only need to provide an ID and Social Security number when they register to vote. Voting rights groups say the initiative will suppress turnout among eligible voters who don’t have the documents on hand, many of whom are disproportionately poor and people of color.

Wagner has also also raised concerns about the time-consuming ballot counting process, particularly how mail-in ballots can take more time with signature matches. His answer seems to be dialing back mail-in ballots. He has said he would roll back the practice of sending universal mail-in ballots to every voter, which the state made permanent during the COVID-19 pandemic, though that would require legislative approval. He said he’d also support legislation to move up the deadline to certify election results. Providing the last 4 digits of an ID without further verification actually increases the risk of fraud. Weber has argued that accuracy is more important than speed: it’s important to count every ballot and that most outcomes are known before she certifies the results anyway.

Wagner’s website says nothing about whether he will stand up to the Trump administration (i.e., would he be sending California voter rolls to DC for verification, which has a bad record of kicking out valid voters, as well as exposing private information). Being Republican, I doubt that he would.

He also wants to streamline small business applications, which seems reasonable.

He has a shitload of endorsements (and here), all Conservative, and driven by his support of Voter ID and the MAGA obsession with election integrity.