The California Secretary of State is Shirley N. Weber, a Democrat appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom in December 2020, sworn in on January 29, 2021, and elected to a full term in November 2022. The office is one of eight constitutionally established executive positions in California and runs the state’s elections, business entity filings, campaign finance and lobbying disclosure, notary commissions, the Domestic Partners Registry, the Safe at Home confidential address program, and the State Archives. Weber is the 32nd person and the first Black Californian to hold the job.1California Secretary of State. About the Secretary of State
Who Holds the Office Now
Before her appointment, Weber served four terms in the California State Assembly representing the 79th District. She chaired the Assembly Budget Committee, becoming the first African American to hold that post, and chaired the Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee and the California Legislative Black Caucus from 2018 to 2020.1California Secretary of State. About the Secretary of State
Newsom nominated her on December 22, 2020, to fill the vacancy Alex Padilla left when he was appointed to the U.S. Senate. Since taking office, Weber has overseen the permanent implementation of universal mail-in voting, the 2021 recall election against Newsom, and multiple lawsuits over election administration. Her office distributes voter information to more than 22 million registered voters in 10 languages.2Orange County Register. For Secretary of State Shirley Weber, Access to Voting Was a Lesson Learned From a Young Age
Elections and Voter Registration
The Secretary of State is California’s chief elections officer. That role covers voter registration, voting system certification, election security, ballot measure qualification, guidance to county clerks, and the publication of certified results.3California Secretary of State. Elections
California’s voter registration deadline is 15 days before Election Day. Conditional registration is available at county elections offices after that cutoff. Residents who are 16 or 17 may pre-register, and the California Motor Voter program automatically registers eligible people through the DMV unless they opt out.4California Secretary of State. Voter Registration
The registration system itself is VoteCal, the centralized statewide database serving as the system of record for all 58 counties. Deployed statewide in early 2016 to comply with the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002, VoteCal exchanges data in real time with the DMV, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Department of Public Health, and other agencies. Those exchanges automatically cancel registrations for deceased individuals and confirmed felons and feed the automatic registration program.5California Secretary of State. VoteCal Project
On the security side, the office runs an Election Security Program with the California Office of Emergency Services, the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, and state technology agencies. New voting systems undergo months of testing that includes source code review and red team penetration testing by outside experts. Every ballot cast in California must be paper or produce a voter-verifiable paper audit trail, elections officials must conduct a manual audit of a randomly selected one percent of ballots after each election, and county voting systems are prohibited from connecting to the internet.6California Secretary of State. Election Cybersecurity
Business Filings
The Business Programs Division processes filings and maintains records for corporations, limited liability companies, limited partnerships, general partnerships, and limited liability partnerships. It handles more than 140 filing types, including entity formation, name reservations, Statements of Information (the annual or biennial reports required of corporations and LLCs), and orders for Certificates of Status and certified copies. These functions are governed by the California Corporations Code.7California Secretary of State. Business Entities
Most transactions run through the bizfile online portal, which also supports Uniform Commercial Code filings used by secured creditors to establish priority, along with trademark and service mark registration through a dedicated portal.8California Secretary of State. bizfile Online Searches of business entity records and UCC filings are free. New entity IDs for corporations, LLCs, and limited partnerships are 12-character identifiers beginning with the letter “B.”9California Secretary of State. bizfile Online Portal
Campaign Finance and Lobbying Disclosure
The Political Reform Division administers the disclosure provisions of the Political Reform Act of 1974, originally enacted as Proposition 9. It receives and processes financial disclosures from candidates, political committees, and lobbyists and publishes them through the CAL-ACCESS database and the Power Search tool. Government Code Section 81002 states that “receipts and expenditures in election campaigns should be fully and truthfully disclosed in order that the voters may be fully informed.”10California Secretary of State. Campaign and Lobbying
Lobbyists pay a $100 annual registration fee, split evenly between the General Fund and the Political Accountability Transparency Act Fund. Active campaign committees that reach a $2,000 threshold are charged an annual $50 fee. Enforcement authority for campaign finance and lobbying rules sits with the Fair Political Practices Commission, not the Secretary of State; the divisions work in coordination, but the FPPC handles regulation and penalties.11California Secretary of State. Political Reform Division Records
Notary, Domestic Partnerships, Safe at Home, and the Archives
The office grants four-year notary public commissions, approves notary education courses, investigates violations of notary law, and takes disciplinary action. It also issues apostilles, which authenticate California public officials’ signatures for documents used abroad, at its Sacramento and Los Angeles offices and through traveling Pop-Up Shop events.12California Secretary of State. Notary Public
The Domestic Partners Registry is also housed here. A Declaration of Domestic Partnership costs $33 if both partners are under 62 and $10 if either partner is 62 or older. Registered domestic partners have the same rights, benefits, and obligations as spouses under California law. Since January 1, 2020, couples may register regardless of age or sexual orientation.13California Secretary of State. Domestic Partners Registry – Forms and Fees
Safe at Home, a confidential address program created in 1998 and operational since July 1999, provides a substitute mailing address for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, child abduction, and elder or dependent adult abuse, along with reproductive health care workers and certain public employees. Pending legislation, Assembly Bill 82, would expand eligibility to gender-affirming health care providers and patients.14California Secretary of State. Safe at Home
Finally, the office manages the California State Archives, which hold historical records including the state’s original 1849 and 1879 constitutions. The Secretary of State is the official repository for state law: when the Governor signs a bill, the Secretary assigns it a chapter number, and that copy becomes the official record.15California Secretary of State. Administration
Salary, Constitutional Role, and Line of Succession
The Secretary of State is one of the elected officers established in Article V of the California Constitution, which has governed the executive branch since 1849. The current annual salary is $184,447, set by the California Citizens Compensation Commission at the same level as the Lieutenant Governor and members of the Board of Equalization.16CalHR. CCCC Salaries
Under Government Code Sections 12058–12059, the Secretary of State stands third in the line of gubernatorial succession, behind the President pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the Assembly, if both the Governor and Lieutenant Governor offices become vacant.17Capitol Weekly. Commission on California Governorship and Order of Precedence
The 2026 Election
Weber is seeking a second full term in November 2026. In the June 2, 2026, primary, she took roughly 5.1 million votes (58.7%), and Republican Don Wagner, an Orange County Supervisor, finished second with about 3.2 million votes (36.7%). Green Party candidates Michael Feinstein and Gary N. Blenner received 2.4% and 2.2%. Under California’s top-two primary system, Weber and Wagner advanced to the general.18California Secretary of State. Secretary of State Election Returns
Weber’s platform focuses on expanding voting access, improving transparency in election filings, and enhancing cybersecurity. She has been endorsed by the California Democratic Party, the California Federation of Teachers, and SEIU California.19CalMatters. Secretary of State Voter Guide
Wagner is an attorney and founder of the Orange County Federalist Society. He has served on the Orange County Board of Supervisors since 2019 and previously held seats in the State Assembly and as Mayor of Irvine. His campaign centers on election integrity. He supports requiring voter ID at the polls, ending the practice of sending mail-in ballots to every registered voter, and shortening the 30-day window California law provides for counting and auditing ballots. He has said he does not believe fraud currently exists in state elections but argues the reforms would bolster public confidence. His campaign reported raising $182,000 between January and mid-April 2026, with less than $120,000 cash on hand. His campaign chairs include former Governor Pete Wilson and former Secretaries of State Bruce McPherson and Bill Jones, and he has been endorsed by the California Republican Party.20Sacramento Bee. Don Wagner for Secretary of State No Republican has won a statewide race in California since 2006.21Santa Barbara Independent. California’s Race for Secretary of State Shows Partisan Divide Over How to Count Ballots
The Voter ID Initiative on the Same Ballot
A Republican-backed voter ID initiative qualified for the November 2026 ballot on April 24, 2026. It would amend the California Constitution to require voters to present government-issued identification at the polls, provide the last four digits of an ID number when voting by mail, and require annual reporting by election officials on the percentage of voters whose citizenship has been verified by county. The state would issue free voter ID cards on request. The Legislative Analyst estimates one-time implementation costs in the tens of millions of dollars and ongoing annual costs from the tens of millions to the low hundreds of millions.22California Secretary of State. Eligible Statewide Initiative Measures The signature drive was led by San Diego Assemblymember Carl DeMaio and raised $10 million, with a majority of the funding seeded by donor Julie Luckey. A 2026 UC Berkeley Institute of Government Studies poll found support for the measure dropped to 37% when respondents were told both about the stated goal of combating fraud and the potential for voter suppression.23CalMatters. Voter ID Initiative Qualifies
The DOJ Voter Data Lawsuit
On September 25, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Weber in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, seeking an unredacted voter file that contained names, residential addresses, driver’s license numbers, and partial Social Security numbers. The DOJ argued it was entitled to the data under the Civil Rights Act of 1960, the Help America Vote Act, and the National Voter Registration Act. California refused, citing state privacy laws, and offered in-person inspection with privacy protections.24League of Women Voters. United States of America v. Weber
The League of Women Voters of California intervened as a defendant in October 2025, arguing that turning over the data would threaten voter privacy and risk the information being shared with the Department of Homeland Security for immigration enforcement. In January 2026, the district court granted motions to dismiss, ruling that the DOJ had failed to meet the requirements of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 and that the NVRA did not preempt California’s privacy protections. The DOJ appealed to the Ninth Circuit in February 2026, a three-judge panel heard oral argument on May 19, 2026, and as of mid-2026 the appellate court has not ruled. A related DOJ appeal against Arizona’s Secretary of State has been stayed pending the outcome of the California and Oregon cases.25Arizona Mirror. 9th Circuit Freezes DOJ Appeal Over Arizona Voter Rolls