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California Secretary of State election, 2026
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← 2022
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| California Secretary of State |
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| General election |
| Election details |
| Filing deadline: March 6, 2026 |
| Primary: June 2, 2026 General: November 3, 2026 |
| How to vote |
| Poll times:
7 a.m. to 8 p.m. |
| Ballotpedia analysis |
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| California executive elections |
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California is holding an election for secretary of state on November 3, 2026.
There are no official candidates yet for this election.
To learn more about other elections on the ballot, click here.
Candidates and election results
Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:
- Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
- Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies
There are no official candidates yet for this election.
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
Candidate profiles
There are currently no candidate profiles created for this race. Candidate profiles will appear here as they are created. Encourage the candidates in this race to complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey so that their profile will appear here.
Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses
Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
No candidate in this race has completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Ballotpedia is seeking 100 percent participation so voters can learn more about all the candidates on their ballots.
Voting information
- See also: Voting in California
Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.
Past elections
The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2014.
2022
General election
General election for California Secretary of State
Incumbent Shirley Weber defeated Robert Bernosky in the general election for California Secretary of State on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Shirley Weber (D) | 60.1 | 6,462,164 | |
| Robert Bernosky (R) | 39.9 | 4,298,530 | ||
| Total votes: 10,760,694 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for California Secretary of State
The following candidates ran in the primary for California Secretary of State on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Shirley Weber (D) | 58.9 | 4,016,798 | |
| ✔ | Robert Bernosky (R) | 18.8 | 1,281,587 | |
| Rachel Hamm (R) | 12.1 | 822,978 | ||
| James Paine (R) | 3.7 | 254,222 | ||
| Gary Blenner (G) | 3.0 | 205,630 | ||
| Raul Rodriguez Jr. (R) | 2.6 | 176,059 | ||
| Matthew Cinquanta (Independent) | 0.9 | 59,481 | ||
| Desmond Silveira (No party preference) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 235 | ||
| Total votes: 6,816,990 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2018
General election
General election for California Secretary of State
Incumbent Alex Padilla defeated Mark Meuser in the general election for California Secretary of State on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Alex Padilla (D) | 64.5 | 7,909,521 | |
| Mark Meuser (R) | 35.5 | 4,362,545 | ||
| Total votes: 12,272,066 (100.00% precincts reporting) | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for California Secretary of State
The following candidates ran in the primary for California Secretary of State on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Alex Padilla (D) | 52.6 | 3,475,633 | |
| ✔ | Mark Meuser (R) | 31.0 | 2,047,903 | |
| Ruben Major (D) | 5.4 | 355,036 | ||
| Raul Rodriguez Jr. (R) | 5.0 | 330,460 | ||
| Gail Lightfoot (L) | 2.4 | 155,879 | ||
| Michael Feinstein (G) | 2.1 | 136,725 | ||
| C.T. Weber (Peace and Freedom Party) | 0.9 | 61,375 | ||
| Erik Rydberg (G) | 0.7 | 48,705 | ||
| Total votes: 6,611,716 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2014
| Secretary of State of California, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Alex Padilla |
53.6% | 3,799,711 | |
| Republican | Pete Peterson | 46.4% | 3,285,334 | |
| Total Votes | 7,085,045 | |||
| Election results via California Secretary of State | ||||
Election analysis
This section will contain facts and figures related to this state's elections when those are available.
Secretary of State elections in 2026
There are 26 secretary of state seats on the ballot in 2026.
See also
| California | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
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External links
Footnotes
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