60 Candidates, One Historic Race, Zero ICE at the Polls

California Secretary of State Shirley Weber has a message for voters heading to the polls this Tuesday: relax. At least about one thing.

In an interview with KCRA 3 on Friday, Weber confirmed what Gov. Gavin Newsom and other state leaders have been working behind the scenes to secure—federal immigration authorities won’t be disrupting the primary election.“They have all assured us that ICE will not come to our polling places. They’ve said that over and over,”Weber said of conversations with the FBI and other federal officials. It’s a reassurance that matters. The legitimate concerns weren’t paranoia; immigration authorities were spotted outside campaign events last year, and Newsom didn’t hesitate to use that reality as motivation to sign a new state law this week restricting law enforcement access to polls and ballots at every level.

But here’s where things get actually interesting: this primary isn’t about ICE showing up. It’s about what happens when 60 people show up to run for governor—a candidate field so massive it’s genuinely historic. Add in 15 or more running for lieutenant governor, and you’ve got an election unlike anything California has seen before. Weber calls it“exciting as well as challenging,”which is political speak for“we have no idea what’s going to happen.”Early turnout numbers suggest voter motivation has been sluggish so far, which Weber attributes to voter fatigue from the sheer volume of candidates and advertising saturation. When multiple campaigns have bought up all the airwaves, the message gets lost.

Don’t expect clarity on election night either. With the governor’s race featuring such a crowded field, California’s top-two primary system means the two candidates with the highest vote totals move forward—but those results probably won’t be called Tuesday evening. Vote-by-mail ballots arriving on election day, signature verification, ballot curing—all of it takes time. Weber is firm on this: speed is less important than accuracy.“We’ll do what we can as fast as we can but as accurate as we can,”she said.

The takeaway? California’s election machinery is ready. The real wild card isn’t federal agents or processing delays—it’s whether voters in a crowded race can break through the noise to actually show up. Weber is hoping for what she calls“a boring election,”which in this context means no surprises, lots of participation, and every vote counted correctly. Given the sheer novelty of the 60-candidate governor’s race alone, boring might be exactly what California needs.