With less than a year to go until California’s primary, local elections officials’ preparations are already underway for the 2026 midterms.
They are scouting out potential sites where voters can cast their ballots, ordering ballot envelopes and other supplies, developing new services to improve election procedures. That’s all part of the job, local election officials say, especially with less than 10 months to go until what was supposed to be the next statewide Election Day.
But a little, late-in-the-game wrench has been thrown into those meticulous plans: Congressional district boundary lines may change just ahead of the election.
Those changes, and holding a special election to approve them, could be costly, local elections officials warn.
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday launched California’s campaign to redraw congressional boundary lines, a partisan effort meant to favor Democrats in the state as a counter to similar, Republican-led plans elsewhere in the country in the battle for which party controls the U.S. House of Representatives.
Voters would need to approve redistricting congressional maps in a special election in November to allow the state to forgo the boundaries already drawn by an independent commission for the next three election cycles and implement the new, partisan ones. And all that would be contingent on Republican-led states, such as Texas, going through with their redistricting efforts.
Dean Logan, who oversees Los Angeles County’s elections, said his office “has been taking steps to prepare and ensure we have adequate resources to administer” elections successfully.
“A key part of that preparation is having finalized and established district boundaries well ahead of time,” Logan said. “If district boundaries change late in the process, it can require substantial rework, from updating voter registration records to reprinting and redistributing materials. Should a statewide election move forward in 2025, it’s critical that counties are provided a realistic timeline, appropriate resources and clear guidance, as was the case during the 2021 gubernatorial recall.”
“Without upfront state funding, a clearly defined election calendar and finalized district information, counties can face significant operational challenges,” Logan added.
The governor’s request to the legislature for a special election and new congressional maps also included a request for the state to reimburse counties for the cost of administering a special election.
It’s unclear how much the special election will ultimately cost. The secretary of state’s office said “logistical details, including costs,” are dependent upon the specifics of the special election, which needs to be formally called by the legislature, which is on break until Monday.
Bob Page, Orange County’s registrar of voters, has estimated the price tag to be somewhere around $11.2 million to $12.7 million in OC alone. That smaller amount, he said, is based on a voter information guide being small enough to be mailed along with ballots.
And how precincts change will also impact the cost, he said.
Orange County’s election office’s initial estimate predicts those changes could require 650 hours of labor, costing $102,000. “That rough estimate could go up or down once we see the proposed congressional district maps,” Page said.
The cost for a special election in Riverside County “typically ranges between $15 million to $16 million,” said Elizabeth Florer, a registrar’s office spokesperson.
Riverside’s registrar of voters’ office, Florer added, “anticipates increased workload and will require additional resources should a special election be called.”
Assembly Republicans estimated the special election would cost the state at least $235.5 million. For context, the 2021 effort to recall Newsom cost the state about $200 million.
“It’s great news the Governor wants the State to pay for the election,” Page said in a recent LinkedIn post. “But his press release uses the word ‘reimbursement.’ Several associations representing counties have advocated for the state to advance funds to counties like it did during the 2021 Gubernatorial Recall Election.”
“No county budgeted for a special statewide election,” Page said in the post.
The governor’s office didn’t respond to questions about how long it would take the state to reimburse counties or if there was any consideration to foot the bill upfront.
Fundraising text messages were already going out Friday morning, less than 24 hours after Newsom announced his redistricting plans.
“It will be a tough and expensive election, but we’re doing it,” the text said.
Newsom and Democratic allies have promoted the redistricting effort as a way to counter President Donald Trump’s request to Texas and other red states to shore up congressional seats ahead of the 2026 midterms. Republicans control the White House, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House, but midterms generally favor the party not in charge; in this case, Democrats.
California Republicans are staunchly opposed to the efforts, meanwhile.
“Californians demand and deserve transparency from their government,” said Assemblymember Alexandra Macedo, R-Tulare, who serves as the vice chair of the Assembly Elections Committee. “Gov. Newsom’s sinister redistricting scheme is the opposite. There is no public input.”
Despite the uncertainty about funding and district boundaries, local elections officials are striking a confident tone that they’ll be able to pull off both elections.
“There is some impact,” Page said when asked about how his office is juggling 2026 in tandem with a new statewide election this year, “but we will be able to manage it.”
“While we await official guidance and clarity on a potential special statewide election, we are prepared to move quickly when decisions are made,” said Logan.