Candidates couldn’t vote in person after law

Several Los Angeles political candidates learned at the polling place that they couldn’t vote in person because a new California law keeps candidate contact details off the voter rolls by default. The measure, AB 1392, was enacted in January and requires candi

On Tuesday, a handful of candidates walked into Los Angeles polling places with their names on the ballot—then hit a wall: their names weren’t on the rolls election workers could see, and they couldn’t vote in person.

The confusion landed hardest in Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia’s campaign. as well as City Council candidate Maria Lou Calanche’s and Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez’s office. What sounded like a paperwork glitch turned into a lesson about a new state privacy law. AB 1392. which keeps the names and contact information of political candidates confidential by default unless they opt out.

Michael Sanchez. a spokesman for the Los Angeles County registrar-recorder/county clerk. said the law keeps candidate information off the voter rolls that election workers can view unless candidates choose otherwise. Sanchez said AB 1392 maintains confidentiality of names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses. Candidates can opt out, he said—but if they don’t, they are unable to vote in person.

Sanchez also tied the law to the rising security concerns that helped reshape privacy rules for public figures. AB 1392 was authored by state Assemblymember LaShae Sharp-Collins (D-San Diego) and passed after two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses were shot in their homes. Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband were killed in the June 2025 attacks.

Sharp-Collins wrote in support of the bill that “In light of increasing threats and harassment targeting public officials, AB 1392 provides timely and necessary protection.”

Sanchez said candidates were given information on the law when they registered for the race. The measure was enacted in January, and he said that information included how to opt out of confidentiality. The spokesman said the only way to vote when confidentiality remains intact is by mail.

“The reality is this law is in place, candidates were provided the information to opt out. Unfortunately, fortunately, however you look at it, there is a limitation to voting only by mail to ensure that the confidential status remains intact,” Sanchez said.

Mejia said he went to a polling place and was initially told he had to register to vote. He ended up voting by filling out his mail-in ballot and submitting it at the polling location, he said. He described the fix as quick—about 15 minutes—but said election workers should have access to the full registration list so candidates can cast an in-person ballot.

“We’re in 2026, we have the technology,” Mejia said. “We should be able to do that.”

Calanche discovered the problem on Monday, according to her political consultant, David Meraz. She said election workers couldn’t find her information and she was unable to vote in person. After that, she decided to drop off her mail-in ballot.

Hernandez’s experience was more complicated. She was able to vote in person. but only after filling out a provisional ballot. according to Chelsea Lucktenberg. the councilmember’s deputy chief of staff. Lucktenberg said Hernandez did not immediately recall any information or paperwork that would have indicated she wouldn’t be able to vote in person.

A similar disruption played out for Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez. He called the county registrar-recorder to ask about the status of his mail-in ballot. he said. but election staff didn’t see him listed as a registered voter. The issue was resolved once staff realized he was a candidate. Soto-Martínez said. though as of Monday he was still waiting for his ballot to arrive in the mail.

The individual stories share the same trigger: names on the ballot. but not on the rolls that election workers can access for in-person voting—unless a candidate has opted out of confidentiality under AB 1392. Sanchez said the law keeps candidate details off those visible lists by default. and that candidates were informed when they registered.

By Tuesday, the cases were still being sorted out in real time by polling staff—sometimes with mail-in ballots, sometimes with provisional ballots, and, for at least one candidate, with the expectation that the system should have allowed an in-person vote in the first place.

AB 1392 Los Angeles County registrar-recorder voter rolls political candidates mail-in ballot provisional ballot Kenneth Mejia Maria Lou Calanche Eunisses Hernandez Hugo Soto-Martínez