From Hope to the Secretary of State’s office: Dr. Shirley Weber

CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: We’re joined today by Dr. Shirley Weber, California’s Secretary of State. Governor Newsom appointed the four-term Assembly member as Secretary of State in 2020 to fill the remainder of Alex Padilla’s term when Padilla went to the US Senate. Voters elected her to a full term on November 8, 2022.

Serving as the state’s chief elections officer is a natural fit for Weber, whose family left Arkansas during the Jim Crow era after her father was threatened for agitating in favor of voting rights. The family settled in southern California, where her mother became a longtime poll worker, with the family home often serving as a polling place.

Hosts Rich Ehisen and Tim Foster spoke with Weber about administrating elections, why it takes so long to get results in some districts, and how to inspire young Californians to care as much about voting as Weber’s family always has. Plus – Who Had the Worst Week in California Politics?

:55 “A Boring Election”

2:29 29 bomb threats

4:23 Why does it take so long to get a final count in some districts?

6:07 Ballot curing

9:13 Election integrity

12:11 Poll workers

15:49 “We were the polling place”

16:21 A place called Hope

17:37 “They had planned to kill my father”

21:03 How to get young people to vote?

25:12 Engaging high school students

26:24 “The life of voting”

31:01 #WWCA: Take a chill pill

37:54 The Resistance: California vs. Donald Trump