{"id":5694,"date":"2026-05-12T23:31:35","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T23:31:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5694"},"modified":"2026-05-12T23:31:35","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T23:31:35","slug":"2026-california-secretary-of-state-candidates-discuss-voter-id-election-security-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5694","title":{"rendered":"2026 California secretary of state candidates discuss voter ID, election security and more"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

From expanding voter registration opportunities to helping people get to the polls on Election Day, the candidates for California secretary of state have various ideas on how to improve the state\u2019s elections.<\/p>\n

Read more Silicon Valley county sues Meta, alleging it made billions from scam ads<\/a><\/p>\n

Four candidates are on the June 2 primary ballot for secretary of state: Democratic incumbent Shirley Weber, Republican Don Wagner and Green Party candidates Gary Blenner and Michael Feinstein.<\/p>\n

Feinstein, Wagner and Weber all emphasized the important role the office plays in protecting voters\u2019 rights and access to voting, but they vary on ways they believe the state can better ensure its elections are free from interference and build trust with voters.<\/p>\n

Wagner, in the Southern California News Group\u2019s 2026 Primary Voter Guide, said he\u2019d like to do away with California\u2019s practice of mailing ballots to all registered voters.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving so many ballots out there, coupled with bloated voting rolls, allows for the possibility of interference and illegal influence over our elections,\u201d said Wagner, a member of Orange County\u2019s Board of Supervisors. \u201cAnd even if such interference is not happening, the widespread perception of such interference undermines confidence in the system.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been an \u201congoing challenge\u201d to build trust in voting systems nationwide, said Weber, who has served as secretary of state since 2021.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe courts, research centers, governmental agencies and the executive branches have consistently found no evidence to support the idea that our elections are untrustworthy,\u201d said Weber.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cTo help expand that trust, we partner with nonprofit organizations and trusted messengers to help carry accurate information statewide. We also invest in our high school students who work at polling places, helping build civic engagement for the next generation. We also utilize social media platforms that represent various ethnic and social groups to help magnify messages in every community,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Feinstein, a former Santa Monica mayor, alleged it\u2019s the Trump administration that is the \u201cbiggest threat to the integrity of California\u2019s elections.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Trump administration seeks to interfere and exert partisan influence over states\u2019 elections and cast unsubstantiated doubt about \u2014 and possibly even manipulate \u2014 election results,\u201d said Feinstein.<\/p>\n

\u201cA second threat comes from disinformation\/misinformation operations \u2014 foreign and domestic \u2014 in our elections,\u201d Feinstein added. \u201cThese have undue influence because voters often lack needed, accurate information, highlighting a voter\u2019s rights issue \u2014 all voters deserve a meaningful baseline of information about all choices before them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

But Wagner, the Republican, blames \u201cmisguided actions of the legislature\u201d for sowing distrust in the state\u2019s election system.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mailing of ballots to every name on the bloated voting rolls, the extremely long \u2018cure and correct\u2019 period and the 30-day counting period before certification are a few examples of changes to election laws that have led to widespread distrust,\u201d said Wagner.<\/p>\n

Read more UCLA women\u2019s basketball coach Cori Close gets new contract<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cAs secretary of state, I will work to undo these state election laws to restore transparency and trust,\u201d said Wagner.<\/p>\n

Blenner did not participate in the Southern California News Group\u2019s Voter Guide, but his campaign website said he supports public financing of campaigns, expanding the state Assembly and ranked choice voting. He is a former trustee of the Center Joint Unified School District\u2019s school board in Sacramento County.<\/p>\n

Aside from overseeing the state\u2019s elections, Weber said managing the state archives is another important role of the job. Her office is in the process of expanding the genealogy capacity of the archives for Californians to be able to trace their lineage back several hundred years.<\/p>\n

And each year, hundreds of thousands of businesses register with the secretary of state\u2019s office, she noted.<\/p>\n

Wagner, if elected, said he would like to see better handling of campaign and lobbying disclosure laws and filings.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe system has not been as robust as the people of California deserve,\u201d Wagner said, calling issues with Cal-Access, the website used to track campaign finance and lobbying, \u201cunacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Feinstein, meanwhile, said he supports overhauling California\u2019s jungle primary system, where the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, advance to the general election. That system, in place for over a decade, \u201cgreatly restricts voter choice,\u201d said Feinstein.<\/p>\n

Both Weber and Feinstein oppose a proposed ballot measure that would require voters to show an ID at the polls or write the last four digits of their ID on mailed ballots. Both said they would enforce the new law as secretary of state if it ended up on the November general election ballot and passed.<\/p>\n

Wagner supports the effort and also said he would ensure it\u2019s implemented, should voters back it.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut more importantly, since much of the state\u2019s current political establishment opposes it, and has a history of not vigorously enforcing \u2014 or suing to stop \u2014 initiatives they don\u2019t like, I pledge to the people of California that I will sue to protect voter ID if passed by the people,\u201d said Wagner.<\/p>\n

Election Day is June 2 \u2014 but registered voters should have already received their ballots in the mail and can already return their ballots through the mail or drop boxes.<\/p>\n

The top two vote-getters in this race advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation.<\/p>\n

Read more Nneka Ogwumike says Sparks\u2019 defense is key against Caitlin Clark and Fever<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Four candidates are on the June 2 primary ballot: Democratic incumbent Shirley Weber, Republican Don Wagner and Green Party candidates Gary Blenner and Michael Feinstein.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5693,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-facts","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n2026 California secretary of state candidates discuss voter ID, election security and more - Silicon Valley Moving Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5694\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"2026 California secretary of state candidates discuss voter ID, election security and more - 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