Newport Beach voters could be getting a second ballot this November but it’s unclear according to the city’s own lawyer whether it’s legal or if the city can create an election from scratch with 50 days until Election Day. 

The special election comes after Orange County Superior Court Judge Julianne Bancroft ordered city leaders to move forward with putting three ballot initiatives in front of the voters during the 2026 election.  

Read: OC Election’s Chief Rejects Newport Beach Initiatives Ordered by Judge 

But Orange County Registrar of Voters Bob Page, whose office has helped manage the city’s elections for nearly half a century, said he won’t be consolidating the city’s election with the November general election and said his office won’t be helping the city run the election. 

In a letter to city leaders on Friday afternoon, Page laid out a number of concerns with the city’s election plans, noting they were already missing a series of deadlines to get ballots printed on time and stating his office could not help them. 

“Several critical election deadlines are expiring or near expiration, further constraining the ability of the Registrar to administer any City-requested services,” Page wrote. “Requiring the County to develop and provide services in support of a stand-alone City election on the same date as the statewide general election would interfere with the Registrar’s ability to conduct the General Election and pose unacceptable risks.” 

To read the letter, click here. 

Today, city leaders are set to ask Bancroft to amend her order after they admitted in a special meeting on Friday last week they cannot conduct the election without Page’s help, with their lawyer also noting even with his help they would still likely violate state law and the city charter. 

The three initiatives Bancroft ordered to be placed on the ballot were aimed at increasing transparency, establishing a strict eight-year term limit for city council members and shifting the city to district elections. 

Signature gathering efforts for the three initiatives were entirely funded by local developer Ken Picerne, who has not spoken publicly about the initiatives, and are backed by a group of local activists dubbed the Newport Beach Stewardship Association. 

Read: Judge Orders Newport Beach to Move Forward with Ballot Initiatives

City leaders challenged the ballot initiatives repeatedly in court over the past year, but all their challenges were shot down, with Bancroft noting they had “abused their discretion” by not putting the initiatives on the November ballot and questioning if their actions amounted to obstruction. 

“This Court has the authority in this mandamus proceeding to order the City Council to immediately take the necessary steps to place these three initiatives on the November 3, 2026 ballot,” reads Bancroft’s minute order from last month. 

Now, city leaders are looking to put those three initiatives on a separate ballot managed by the city because they missed deadlines to have it included with the general election ballots. 

Other Newport Beach elections, including the races for city council and another ballot initiative aimed at shrinking the total amount of approved housing in town that was also sponsored by Picerne, will be on the general election ballot, along with county, state and federal races. 

During Friday’s special council meeting, City Attorney Aaron Harp highlighted a series of legal problems with the election, noting that under state law and the city’s own charter they were barred from hosting an election on the same day as the state’s general election. 

But Bancroft’s order explicitly mandates the city to host an election on Nov. 3, meaning the city either has to reject the judicial order, or conflict with state law and its own charter. 

“It’s difficult to get the voters’ minds wrapped around the fact there are two elections on the same day,” Harp said. 

“So if we move forward with this the city will be in violation of state law?” asked Councilman Noah Blom during the meeting.

“That’s my interpretation,” Harp said. 

Despite the legal questions, Harp encouraged council members to move forward with the special election, noting that unless the judge amended her order, they were required to hold it. 

“To try and get all of this to work we have to act quickly,” Harp said. “It’s such a compressed window we have to take action soon in order to attempt to meet the deadlines.” 

To help host the election, city council members hired the Stellara Group, a consulting firm run by Jessica Blair, a former city clerk and former president of the California Municipal Clerks Association, according to her website.

While Blair agreed to indemnify the city against any legal action that could arise from mistakes on her part, she did not indemnify the city from any potential legal challenges from a disenfranchised voter or other complaints around the speed of the election. 

The special election will take place entirely by mail-in ballots, according to City Clerk Lena Shumway, who noted on Friday morning the city didn’t have the infrastructure or the time to set up vote centers or precinct voting. 

“We’re going to do an all-mail ballot election,” Shumway said. 

Blair said she had “never heard,” of a city hosting a separate election on the same day as the county and state, but that she had laid out a schedule to let the city hit all the mandated deadlines. 

Voters cannot return their ballot to ballot boxes around the city, since those are owned by the county registrar, and it remains unclear if the city will be able to answer voter’s questions at vote centers throughout the city. 

Shumway, Blair and Harp also made it clear it’s impossible to host an election without the county registrar’s help for a variety of tasks including things like signature verification and ballots for members of the military or other voters overseas. 

“We need the county’s help, absolutely need the county’s help,” Harp said, noting that without the registrar it would be “impossible.” 

Blair noted that no ballots would be sent out until the city had guaranteed the registrar’s assistance, noting the deadline for that to come in would be the end of next week.  

Hours after their meeting, Page informed the city he would not be assisting them in any way with the election, noting it would take too much time when they’re in the middle of hosting elections for another three million county residents. 

“These types of foreseeable issues risk not only confusion, but also disenfranchisement,” Page wrote. “For these reasons, the Orange County Registrar of Voters will not recommend that the Orange County Board of Supervisors authorize the broad range of services described.” 

While council members ultimately voted 4-3 to move forward with the election for now, nearly every member of the council voiced concerns about the process at their meeting on Friday. 

Councilman Joe Stapleton noted that while the city had raised numerous concerns in court, there wasn’t much left they could do to fight the initiatives or the election. 

“At this point I feel like we’ve gone as long as we can on this and we have a court order saying we have to do something,” Stapleton said. “I’m fully supportive of the city attorney to move forward.”

Councilwoman Robyn Grant also pushed to move forward with the election, noting that these were “grave issues.” 

“This is not optimal for good governance,” Grant said. “The safest approach is to move forward with the resolution.” 

Councilman Erik Weigand called the election a “disservice” that would confuse voters. 

“What is being asked of us by the courts is to run an election in an accelerated time frame that is separate from the general election being conducted this November,” Weigand said. “I don’t feel comfortable.” 

Councilman Noah Blom also raised a series of concerns with the last minute election, saying he wanted answers on the legal questions before voting. 

“I’m very uncomfortable making an active decision to go against state law,” Blom said. “The clarity is not there right now.” 

Blom is set to write the city’s opposition letters to the initiatives alongside Weigand and Councilwoman Sara Weber. 

Weber, who also voted against the election, said it felt like no matter what option the city took they were running up against the law. 

“I literally feel like I am being forced to break certain laws in order to comply with other laws that were also broken,” Weber said. “I cannot articulate how wrong all of this feels to be perfectly honest.” 

Noah Biesiada is a Voice of OC reporter. Contact him at nbiesiada@voiceofoc.org.