Alex Padilla: “Let's get past the pretext. Let's get past the excuses. Let's get past the rhetoric.”

I know how California elections work very, very well. They’re safe, they’re secure. They’re fair, they’re free, and they’re going to stay that way.

Their only hope for trying to maintain any sense of power is to interfere. It’s to change the rules. It’s to rig the elections.

The 2026 midterm elections have begun. We urge you to immediately reaffirm that the Department will forgo any actions that would interfere with the lawful administration of the 2026 elections.

This incident is a stark reminder of the very real danger facing those who serve the public and who help administer our elections in the face of increasingly hostile political rhetoric.