California voters have long trusted that their ballots, whether mailed, dropped in a box or cast in person, will be counted fairly. That trust is now being tested by outside political pressure, and it’s a fight worth having, according to Secretary of State Shirley Weber.
Weber, a Democrat seeking reelection this year against Republican challenger Don Wagner, says the state’s election system is sound and that recent claims of widespread voter fraud aimed at California and other states don’t hold up under scrutiny.
She points to a recent example from Nevada, where the Trump administration’s Department of Homeland Security initially claimed to have uncovered 278,000 illegal voter registrations. That number was later walked back dramatically, with officials acknowledging that 99.94% of those flagged registrations were legitimate. No solid evidence has since emerged to support claims of fraud among the remaining cases.
Weber says this pattern isn’t new and has repeatedly been used to cast doubt on California’s election system, despite little evidence to back it up. Independent research and investigations, she notes, consistently show that large-scale voter fraud simply doesn’t happen in the United States. California, she says, has strong safeguards in place, but true attempts at fraud remain exceedingly rare.
During her time in office, Weber says the state has run elections marked by high turnout and smooth operations. She credits California’s vote-by-mail system, which she describes as both convenient and secure, along with the state’s ballot-curing process, which allows election officials to follow up with voters if there’s an issue such as a mismatched signature, ensuring legitimate ballots aren’t thrown out.
“Our system works,” Weber said, arguing that accessibility and accountability can coexist.
She also emphasized her willingness to separate politics from the responsibilities of her office. Weber recalled her decision during the 2021 recall election to deny a request from Gov. Gavin Newsom, who had appointed her to the position, to alter his party affiliation on the ballot. She said the decision reflected her commitment to fairness over political loyalty, even when it meant pushing back against the very governor who gave her the job.
For Weber, the broader fight over voting rights carries deep personal meaning. Born in the Jim Crow-era South, she says her parents were unable to vote until they left Arkansas and settled in Los Angeles, where they cast their first ballots. Voting, she said, was treated as sacred in her household — so much so that her mother once turned their living room into a neighborhood polling place.
Weber says her family’s journey, from being denied basic voting rights to now overseeing California’s elections, reflects a uniquely American story. She said she doesn’t take that responsibility lightly and remains committed to defending Californians’ access to the ballot box against what she characterizes as politically motivated attacks on the state’s election system.
Original source: CalMatters
