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The Orange County Registrar of Voters has rejected Newport Beach leaders’ attempt to get three initiatives aimed at transparency and changing how people elect city council members on the 2026 ballot weeks past the official deadline. 

The rejection, which was written by County Counsel Leon Page on behalf of County Registrar Bob Page, comes a day after an Orange County Superior Court Judge ordered city leaders to put the initiatives on the November ballot instead of kicking them to the presidential election in 2028, saying the city “abused its discretion,” by delaying the initiatives. 

“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 the minute order from Judge Julianne Bancroft’s decision on Thursday. 

Read: OC Judge Forces Newport Beach Leaders to Put Charter Reforms On November Ballot

Bancroft also previously called out the city for actions that “could lead to a finding of obstructionism,” noting that the deadlines they’re running up against now are only because city leaders delayed filing the initiatives.  

“The Court was required to order the City on multiple occasions to prepare ballot questions and arguments,” reads Bancroft’s decision from Aug. 19. “The point of doing so was to prevent the delays that the City now contends prevent these initiatives from going on the November 2026 ballot.” 

City spokesperson Georgia Rios said the city would be reaching out to the judge for guidance after the letter from Page in a Friday statement. 

“The City of Newport Beach is currently analyzing the steps necessary to comply with the judge’s order and will likely seek further direction from the court next week, as coordination with the County is critical to conducting a successful election,” Rios wrote.

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. 

While city leaders followed Bancroft’s order, emailing the initiatives over last night and hand delivering copies to the registrar’s office this morning, County Counsel Leon Page sent them a letter this afternoon saying that they couldn’t accept it because it was against the law. 

In the letter, Leon referenced a state law that requires any initiatives be posted at least 88 days prior to the start of the election, and requires them to be turned into the registrar at that point. 

“The 88-day deadline, which expired on August 7, 2026, is therefore the last day by which the city must act, and any filing after that date would not satisfy the statutory requirement,” County Counsel Page wrote. 

In his letter, Page also noted that the city failed to properly call for an election on those initiatives after the judge pushed them onto the ballot, and noted that with ballots going to print by the end of next week, there was no way the county registrar of voters could add the initiatives in time. 

“Adding the City measures would substantially interfere with the printing and distribution of election materials and disrupt the Registrar’s ability to conduct the November 3, 2026, statewide election,” Page wrote. 

It’s yet another delay in a legal fight that stretches back to last December between Newport Beach leaders and the Newport Beach Stewardship Association, a small group entirely funded by Newport Beach developer Ken Picerne who spent nearly $1 million trying to get all four initiatives on the ballot, according to campaign finance disclosures. 

The group still has one initiative, dubbed the Responsible Housing Initiative, that will go on the ballot this November and would significantly cut the amount of new housing coming to town. 

Read: Newport Beach Voters to Decide on Taking Control of City’s Housing Plan

Picerne – who didn’t respond to a request for comment for this story – hasn’t spoken publicly about why he wants the initiatives passed, but city leaders have been publicly questioning why a developer is funding so many local initiatives. 

Newport Beach City Manager Seimone Jurjis called out Picerne for his spending in a newsletter posted to the city’s website last week.

“Residents should understand the broader context,” Jurjis wrote. “Developer Ken Picerne has provided substantial financial support for these initiative efforts while also having significant development interests in Newport Beach and ongoing litigation with the City over development-related matters.” 

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