Californians Vote on 8 Statewide Offices as 9th Circuit Backs Ballots

DIABLO VALLEY & SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Beyond the race to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom, voters across the Highway 24 and Interstate 680 (24/680) corridor and statewide are deciding 8 down-ballot California executive offices on Tuesday, November 3, as federal appellate rulings and county chain-of-custody protocols safeguard California’s ballot tally.

Eight Down-Ballot Statewide Executive and Tax Board Contests on Tuesday's Ballot

As reported by The Almanac and Mountain View Voice, alongside News24-680, Californians are choosing leaders across 8 constitutional offices and tax board bodies:

1. Attorney General: Democratic incumbent Rob Bonta, who has served since 2021, faces Republican Michael Gates, a former trial attorney who worked for the city of Huntington Beach for more than a decade.
2. Insurance Commissioner: Two Democrats—former San Francisco Supervisor and consumer advocate Jane Kim and Los Angeles State Sen. Ben Allen—are competing to regulate California’s wildfire-strained insurance market.
3. Superintendent of Public Instruction: Republican Sonja Shaw of the Chino Valley Unified school board faces Democrat Richard Barrera of the San Diego Unified school board, who is backed by the California Teachers Association and the California Charter Schools Association.
4. Lieutenant Governor: Democratic State Treasurer Fiona Ma (serving since 2019) faces Republican Gloria Romero, a former Democratic state legislator.
5. State Controller: Democratic incumbent Malia Cohen faces San Diego investment firm founder Herb Morgan, a Republican.
6. Secretary of State: Democratic incumbent Shirley Weber (serving since 2021) faces Republican Orange County Supervisor and former Irvine Mayor Donald Wagner.
7. State Treasurer: Two-term Democratic Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis faces Republican Silicon Valley retiree Jennifer Hawks.
8. Board of Equalization (4 of 5 Districts): Voters are electing 4 seats on the 5-member tax board: District 1 (Democratic Fresno Councilmember Nelson Esparza vs. Republican State Sen. Shannon Grove), District 2 (Democratic incumbent Sally Lieber vs. Democratic San Mateo County Community College District trustee John Pimentel), District 3 (Democratic Assemblymember Mike Gipson vs. Democratic labor organizer Samuel Sukaton), and District 4 (Republican Orange Councilmember Denis Bilodeau vs. Democratic State Sen. Tom Umberg).

Full 9th Circuit Vacates Ballot-Challenge Ruling as County Registrars Enforce Chain-of-Custody

According to The Almanac, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) won a federal restraining order last week under the Voting Rights Act barring the federal government from sequestering California ballots or threatening local election workers with prosecution. Although a 3-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals briefly sided with the federal government on Monday, all of the 9th Circuit justices vacated that panel decision hours later and ordered a full rehearing.

To guard against poll disruptions, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that 134 election law attorneys and 1,000 volunteer poll workers are deployed across 5 congressional districts—the 6th (Sacramento area), 13th and 22nd (Central Valley), 45th (Orange and Los Angeles counties), and 48th (San Diego and Riverside counties)—supported by 54 people staffing the California Democratic Party’s voter protection hotline (1-877-321-VOTE).

As reported by KALW 91.7, California’s county registrars have conducted security drills with local law enforcement, the Secretary of State, and the FBI. Placer County Registrar Ryan Ronco stated that processed ballots never leave county custody—"I’d chain myself to those materials and make sure that they weren’t going anywhere"—a stance reinforced after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a federal attempt to force California to set aside more than 20,000 ballots and Attorney General Rob Bonta issued legal guidance protecting ballots from seizure.