Anaheim’s November 3 election reaches its final candidate-filing days

Anaheim’s November 3, 2026, General Municipal Election is entering its final candidate-filing days, with the city’s regular nomination deadline arriving at 5 p.m. Friday, August 7.

The election covers the mayor’s office and City Council Districts 2, 3 and 6. Anaheim’s current candidate list is unofficial and can change as filings are reviewed and the nomination period closes.

Two filing deadlines matter

The Orange County Registrar of Voters says its online candidate-filing portal will close at 5 p.m. Thursday, August 6, one day before the legal filing deadline.

The portal closure does not replace the state-law deadline. The Registrar says candidate filing must be completed at the Registrar of Voters Office by 5 p.m. Friday, August 7. In other words, completing an online submission and completing the filing under state law are separate steps with different deadlines.

Who is currently listed

As of Anaheim’s August 5 unofficial list, three people are listed for mayor at-large:

Ashleigh Aitken — filed/qualified
Alfredo Rodriguez — filed/qualified
Imran Sharief — filed

For Council District 2, Carlos A. Leon is listed as filed/qualified.

District 3 lists Elia Renteria-Garcia as pulled and Natalie Rubalcava as filed/qualified. District 6 lists Natalie Meeks as filed/qualified.

Those labels matter. Anaheim says the page includes people who have pulled nomination papers as well as candidates whose paperwork has been filed or qualified. The city also says the list is updated daily after 5 p.m., so it should not be treated as the final ballot.

Why the ballot list is not final

Anaheim says the official list of qualified candidates will be posted after the Secretary of State’s randomized alphabet drawing on August 13. The drawing determines the order in which candidate names appear on the ballot; it does not make the current unofficial list final by itself.

The city’s calendar sets August 8 through August 17 as the public examination period for candidate statements and ballot designations. If a particular seat receives an extended filing period, that seat’s examination period can run through August 24.

When filing could be extended

A possible extension runs from Monday, August 10, through Wednesday, August 12, at 5 p.m. It applies only if an eligible incumbent for a particular seat does not file by the regular August 7 deadline.

The extension is not automatic for every office, and incumbents cannot use the extended period to file. Residents should wait for Anaheim’s updated election information before assuming that a race is closed or that additional candidates can enter.

What happens next

Write-in candidates may file from September 7 through October 20. The 15-day voter-registration deadline is October 19. Anaheim says conditional voter registration allows eligible voters to register and vote provisionally during the final 14 days before the election and on Election Day.

Campaign-finance reporting also becomes more frequent during the closing stretch. The Orange County Registrar lists August 5 through November 3 as the late-contribution reporting period, with reports due within 24 hours when aggregate contributions reach $1,000 or more.

The election is scheduled for Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Anaheim residents should monitor the city’s election information after the August 7 deadline for updated candidate statuses, any seat-specific extension and the official candidate list.

Sources

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