Secretary of State warns federal proposals could force costly changes to California elections; seeks funding for Cal Access replacement

Secretary of State Shirley Weber told the Assembly Budget Subcommittee 5 on State Administration that her office is asking the Legislature to approve funding to continue modernizing California's campaign-disclosure systems and warned that pending federal proposals could impose large, undefined costs on counties and the state.

Tamara Johnson, chief financial officer for the Secretary of State, asked the subcommittee for a one-time $15,000,000 allocation from the General Fund to support the second year of the Cal Access Replacement System (CARS) project and outlined a separate request for federal spending authority tied to Help America Vote Act (HAVA) funds to support VoteCal operations.

The requests are part of a broader briefing that also covered election security and the possible consequences if the presidential executive order discussed in Washington and the SAVE Act were to survive legal challenges and become law. Johnson said the CARS request “would provide funding to support the second year of project execution” and that the project is operating within the currently approved scope, schedule and budget. The office told the committee the CARS project is funded within a $22.2 million budget for 2024–25 and that it is planning to roll out the new system to users in November 2026.

Why this…