Alex Padilla is seeking a second term as Secretary of State, a once sleepy post in the California executive branch. The job no longer seems quite so obscure amid the ongoing concern over election security. As the state’s steward of the voter rolls, he has made it easier to register to vote and provided Californians with more ways to vote. And he’s been happy enough to do battle with the Trump administration on issues related to electoral integrity and the census.
Padilla grew up in the north San Fernando Valley, the son of two Mexican immigrants. Despite a mechanical engineering degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he took a detour into California state politics in his mid-twenties and has since developed a reputation as one Sacramento’s brainiest politicos.
Interests:
- Expanding voter access
- Not scoring himself a lucrative engineering job, apparently
Letters of Recommendation:
- California Democratic Party
- Jerry Brown
- Peace Officers Research Association
- Equality California
- California League of Conservation Voters
Contact Information:
Alex-padilla.com
@AlexPadilla4CA
The Resume of Alex Padilla
Secretary of State, 2015 – Present
- Sponsored legislation to automatically register eligible voters when they apply for a driver’s license
- Administered the Voter Choice Act pilot program, in which all registered voters in certain counties were sent ballots in the mail prior to the election and where polling stations were allowed to open two weeks before election day
- Sponsored legislation and implemented a program allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to pre-register to vote, automatically placing them on the voter rolls on their 18th birthday
California State Senator, 2007 – 2014
- Introduced legislation to legalize and regulate self-driving cars in California and to require chain restaurants to print nutritional information on their menus
Los Angeles City Council member, 1999 – 2006
