California Secretary of State

EMILYs List recruits, trains and supports Democratic pro-choice women candidates at every level of the ballot. By helping to elect these women to office in 2025 and 2026, we’re not only building a foundation for the future, but we’re also putting strong women in charge of decisions that affect women and families every day — from the legislators who write laws to the attorneys general who defend and enforce them to the secretaries of state who ensure access to the ballot.

Weber is the incumbent in the seat and will win reelection as the only Democrat in the race. GrowSF approves of her job performance, too.

Preliminary endorsement — Shirley N. Weber has not returned our questionnaire.

Shirley Weber has done the job competently, and we endorse her for another term.

The Secretary of State's primary job is running California's elections, and Weber has done it without drama — which is exactly what you want. Under her tenure, California hit a record 22.6 million registered voters (https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/statistics) in 2024, and over 5 million Californians (https://www.sos.ca.gov/administration/news-releases-and-advisories/2024-news-releases-and-advisories/california-secretary-state-shirley-n-weber-phd-announces-more-5-million-california-voters-signed-track-their-ballot) signed up for ballot tracking through the "Where's My Ballot" system. She's also expanded same-day voter registration and grown the number of Voter Choice Act counties, which give voters more flexibility in where and when they cast their ballots.

When the federal government demanded access to California's statewide voter registration database, Weber refused and won in court (https://www.sos.ca.gov/administration/news-releases-and-advisories/2026-news-releases-and-advisories/california-secretary-state-shirley-n-weber-phd-secures-win-against-threats-voter-privacy).

We'd like to see her push harder on campaign finance transparency. The state's Cal-Access disclosure database (https://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/) is difficult to use and makes it too hard to trace certain types of electoral spending. Voters deserve full transparency around political money.

Source (https://growsf.org/voter-guide/san-francisco-voter-guide-june-2026-election/#secretary-of-state)

Why would we not support Shirley Weber? She’s experienced, a fierce defender of voting rights, and the rare state official whose integrity is not compromised by ambition. Last time she ran, we wrote about the way Weber stood up to Governor Newsom when he asked her to let him appear on the recall ballot as a Democrat despite missing a deadline—“Hey, Shirley, I know I’m late, but do me a favor and just put me down as a Democrat, OK?” She refused, and when Newsom sued her (https://calmatters.org/newsletters/whatmatters/2021/06/newsom-changes-own-recall/), Weber held her ground and the case was tossed out. Integrity in politics, we love to see it!

Given the current level of wackiness and racism around elections (cough cough, Chad Bianco, Voter ID laws, the reactionary Supreme Court) why wouldn’t we want a principled, effective, honest Black public servant with a dedication to accuracy and transparency running our election process? Her opponent, Orange County Republican Don Wagner, is a voter ID hawk who wants to stop sending mail-in ballots to all voters, so this vote really matters. We’ve endorsed Shirley Weber twice (June and November 2022) and are proud to endorse her again. 

Vote Shirley Weber for Secretary of State!

Source (https://www.theleaguesf.org/blog#SecState)

Endorsed by CRA and Howard Jarvis

HJTA-PAC Endorsed

CRA endorsed; solid pro-life conservative who served Orange County well as County Supervisor

Recommended. Committed to voter education for formerly incarcerated; authored legislation on police use-of-force, reparations, and racial profiling.

Supports Voter ID initiative; focused on election security

Incumbent

Incumbent

Statewide constitutional officer endorsement

VIG listing; Occupation: California Secretary of State

Current OC Supervisor, former Irvine Mayor and State Assemblyman; opportunity to solidify election integrity in California

SD County GOP endorsed

She's got the system down. Zero fraud. Anticipation of Trump causing problems in 2028... keep her.

LA Forward recommends Dr. Shirley Weber in re-election bid for California Secretary of State. In 2021 she was appointed by Governor Newsom to the position of Secretary of State to replace Alex Padilla. She won a statewide election in 2022 to continue in the role and is now up for re-election. She is formerly a professor of Africana studies at San Diego State University, a member of the San Diego Board of Education and served in the CA State Assembly from 2012 to 2020. During her time as Secretary of State Weber has prioritized expanding access to the ballot box for every voter and voter education and outreach.

In July 2025 The U.S. Department of Justice (then headed by Pam Bondi) demanded California’s full, unredacted statewide voter registration list in a lawsuit brought by the United States against Secretary of State Weber. After months of fighting the DOJ in court a federal judge granted a motion to dismiss the lawsuit affirming the state of California’s right to shield the personal identifiers of its electorate. Weber is supported by SEIU, Planned Parenthood of California, California Nurses Association, California Environmental Voters and others.

I am voting for Shirley Weber, Secretary of State incumbent. She wants to expand voting access (her dad couldn't vote until he was 30), which is important because why is MAGA trying to block voting access and passing voting suppression bills? She's the first black secretary of state and idk why you would vote otherwise.

Shirley Weber

At a time when Donald Trump and his allies want to destroy democracy by making it difficult or impossible for millions of Americans to vote, it’s critical to have a state elections officer willing to fight back. Weber, appointed to the post by Gov. Gavin Newsom, has been a strong advocate for voting rights, and we are happy to endorse her for a full term.

Source (https://www.sfbg.com/2026/05/06/endorsements-for-the-june-2-election/)

Shirley Weber knows how to run California’s elections — she oversaw the rollout of permanent universal mail-in voting and administered high-stakes elections including the Newsom recall, and she’s pledged to expand voting access and strengthen election cybersecurity in a second term.

Is California’s ballot-counting slow? Yes — and that’s a fair criticism. But speed isn’t the only thing that matters. Access means eligible voters can actually cast a ballot without hurdles; security means those votes are protected and accurately counted. A rushed count that disenfranchises voters or cuts corners on verification isn’t a fix — getting it right matters more than getting it fast, and that’s the tradeoff Weber prioritizes.

Her opponent would take the office the other direction — Don Wagner runs on a Trump-aligned “election integrity” platform and, as an Orange County supervisor, pushed to hand sensitive voter data to Trump’s DOJ. This is the office that decides how we vote.

Shirley Weber is the incumbent; she’s done her job and ensured we actually get to vote, and she’s by-the-book enough that she told Gavin Newsom to kick rocks when he screwed up his election paperwork and tried to correct it after a deadline. Two big points in her favor, here’s to four more years.

“BWOPA PAC is proud to endorse Secretary of State Shirley Weber for re-election. A trailblazer and champion for democracy, Secretary Weber has dedicated her career to expanding voter access, protecting civil rights, and strengthening civic engagement across California. Her leadership reflects a deep commitment to ensuring every voice is heard and every vote is counted. BWOPA PAC is confident she will continue to safeguard our democracy and advance equity for all Californians.”

Re-elect Secretary of State Dr. Shirley Weber to keep California on the right track for progress. Progressive endorsements: Secretary Weber has the endorsement of many groups, including California Nurses Association, California Teachers Association, Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, San Diego Democrats for Equality, California Women’s List, and several other labor unions. She has also received the support of several local and state leaders, including Attorney General Rob Bonta, State Controller Malia Cohen, State Superintendent Tony Thurmond, Asm. LaShae Sharp-Collins, and San Diego County Supervisor Monica Montgomery-Steppe. Top issues and priority policies: Restoring trust and transparency, encouraging Californians to vote, expanding access to the ballot, monitoring and upgrading cybersecurity policies to protect elections, and revamping voter-education outreach programs for the formerly incarcerated who are now eligible to vote.

Republican Wagner, is current R-OC Supervisor, former Mayor of Irvine, and former CA Assemblyman. Wagner is a solid conservative, though some were disappointed he did not take more of a lead for Vote/Election integrity in OC, as a Supervisor. However, in this position of SOS, he will have a REAL opportunity to solidify “ELECTION INTEGRITY” in CA. Republicans desperately need to flip this seat RED, to better oversee elections, and overcome the incompetence and partisan slant of DEM Shirley Weber. WAGNER’S Endorsements are: CA Republican Party, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association (protects Prop 13), and REFORM CA, and more.

OPPONENT: Please DO NOT VOTE for incumbent, who needs to be “RETIRED”. 77 YR OLD”, SHIRLEY WEBER, who OPPOSES providing ID. She has also been criticized for how ballot initiatives are “TITLED”, misleading Voters.. Weber is extremely an liberal Democrat, endorsed by lots of liberal groups/individuals, including Abortion Provider, Planned Parenthood.

She was a progressive assemblyperson before being initially appointed to this position. She is an excellent protector of our voting rights and more.

Don Wagner fully supports the Voter ID initiative and is running for Secretary of State to make sure:

• Only eligible voters cast ballots

• Elections are secure, efficient, accurate, and accessible

• The Secretary of State's business division is "small-business friendly"

Don's many Endorsements include:

The CA Republican Party and California Republican Assembly

American Independent + Shasta Republican Party endorsed

Orange County Supervisor - CAGOP, ACRP, COCO, HJTA, RC, CRA and HB endorsed

SD & Imperial Counties Labor Council endorsed