CA-42 House winner?

Rep. Young Kim (R-CA) has not reported any income for her husband, Charles Kim, on congressional financial disclosures since first running in 2018, despite Orange County records showing he earned up to $100,000 in 2017 as a U.S. coordinator for Dam Jae, a South Korean nonprofit honoring Korean War veterans. The nonprofit's chairman says the payments were volunteer expense reimbursements, not wages, and Kim's campaign says her husband has been retired since 2017 with only exempt Social Security income.

The disclosure comes amid other financial-transparency disputes involving Kim, including a 2025 ethics complaint alleging she failed to report nearly $50,000 in privately funded travel with her husband to Israel and South Korea, and a failed 2018 lawsuit challenging her "small business owner" ballot label. The renewed scrutiny arrives as Kim faces a bruising general-election matchup against fellow Republican Rep. Ken Calvert in California's redrawn 40th District, a race where both incumbents' financial disclosure histories have become a campaign flashpoint.

Los Angeles County begins mailing ballots this Thursday ahead of the Nov. 3 election, with all California counties required to start mailing by Oct. 5. In the June primary, nearly 82% of ballots cast in L.A. County were by mail. Voters can return ballots as soon as they arrive, using postage-free mail, official dropboxes, or in-person Vote Centers, which open starting Oct. 24 and will all be operating by Halloween. Orange County expects the U.S. Postal Service to pick up about 1.9 million ballots on Saturday, with delivery beginning Oct. 5.

The update comes amid scrutiny of federal efforts to restrict mail-in voting. The U.S. Supreme Court recently issued an injunction blocking a Trump administration executive order that would have required states to submit voter lists and directed USPS to send ballots only to approved recipients. California's Secretary of State says no changes have taken effect and voters can cast ballots without added uncertainty. State and local officials continue to encourage early voting ahead of the November election.

Coastal Orange County communities are holding free public events Friday to mark the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people and reshaped American security and daily life.

In Costa Mesa, the nonprofit 9/11 Day — founded by relatives of a volunteer firefighter lost that day — will host its annual "Honor Through Action" meal-packing event, with hundreds of volunteers aiming to pack more than 200,000 meals for families facing food insecurity, part of a nationwide effort seeking to top 50 million meals across all 50 states.

Huntington Beach will hold its annual Patriot Day celebration at Pier Plaza, led by Mayor Casey McKeon in partnership with American Legion Post 133, honoring fallen first responders and civilians. In Newport Beach, the Newport Harbor Elks Lodge and Sons of the American Legion Squadron 291 will host a remembrance ceremony at Veterans Memorial Park, open to the public with refreshments and a no-host bar for lodge members.

The Justice Department is urging a federal judge to rule quickly on its bid to stop California from counting ballots cast by people on a federal list of more than 20,000 potential noncitizens. The request came after Secretary of State Shirley Weber and L.A. County registrar Dean Logan did not review the list on the DOJ's timeline; California's Attorney General Rob Bonta has moved to dismiss the suit, calling it legally weak. Federal officials separately charged 28 legal permanent residents with voter fraud-related offenses this week. In a related case, a federal judge blocked the Department of Homeland Security from using its own noncitizen-voter list, finding it unreliable. State audits show noncitizen voting is rare.

A Los Angeles-area state Senate race between labor-backed West Hollywood City Councilmember John Erickson and business-supported media consultant Brian Goldsmith has become California's most expensive state Senate general election contest this cycle, driven by heavy outside spending. The district, covering Malibu, Santa Monica, the Pacific Palisades, Beverly Hills and West Hollywood, carries a 12-year term limit as both seek to succeed termed-out Sen. Ben Allen.

Business groups have targeted Erickson with attack spending, while tech-linked donors and Goldsmith's own personal funds have boosted his campaign; labor groups opposing Goldsmith have spent far less. Nancy Pelosi recently endorsed Goldsmith. Ads focus on affordability, housing, public safety and partisan loyalty, reflecting a broader business-labor struggle over California Democratic Party direction.

Santa Clara County rejected a DOJ demand for data on 902 voters it suspects are noncitizens and to set aside their ballots, calling it unlawful and infeasible before Election Day; San Mateo and Contra Costa counties raised similar objections, noting the DOJ letters carry no court order. The dispute escalated after a federal judge and a 9th Circuit panel both rejected a related Trump administration effort to block roughly 20,000 California ballots statewide, calling the claims about noncitizen voters not credible and the intervention unconstitutional. The DOJ has appealed again. Gov. Newsom says California is deploying election attorneys to monitor DOJ observers at polling sites.

The Trump administration has warned California election officials that processing ballots cast by suspected noncitizen voters could expose them to criminal investigation and prosecution. A letter from acting deputy attorney general Trent McCotter called noncitizen voting a federal crime and said officials who knowingly facilitate it risk being treated as aiders and abettors. The DOJ sued California after it missed a 48-hour deadline to cross-check a federal list of roughly 20,000 flagged names; federal prosecutors have since charged 28 green-card holders across California, 11 arrested, saying all appeared on that list. Secretary of State Shirley Weber called the demand unprecedented and said officials provided too little information to verify names. Governor Newsom calls the suit voter suppression; the dispute looms over competitive California House races in the midterms.

California voters head to the polls in November to decide statewide and local races alongside 14 ballot propositions, including a closely watched "billionaires tax" measure and a recall-process reform. San Diego County's voter guide outlines a packed slate of contests, with voter pamphlets mailed in late September and ballots beginning to arrive October 5.

Key federal races include five competitive U.S. House districts (48–52), pitting incumbents and challengers from both parties after redistricting reshaped several seats. State Senate and Assembly races feature multiple incumbents defending seats, while the California State Board of Equalization's District 4 race pits a local water official against a sitting state senator.

Locally, San Diego County voters will also choose county supervisors, school board members, and city officials across numerous municipalities including San Diego, Chula Vista, Carlsbad, Escondido, Oceanside, and others, alongside mayoral races and special district seats covering healthcare, water, and community college boards. The wide-ranging ballot reflects a highly competitive election cycle across Southern California.

The Department of Justice has escalated its investigation into alleged noncitizen voting in California, issuing three grand jury subpoenas to Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder employees ordering them to appear in court Nov. 4. The subpoenas seek documents and communications tied to DOJ letters sent in July and October alleging noncitizens on the state's voter rolls, plus any efforts to keep such votes from being counted.

Earlier, the DOJ sued California after giving officials 48 hours to match 20,000 DHS-flagged names against state data; a federal preliminary review found about 118,000 matches nationwide, below Trump's earlier claim of 250,000. A judge already rejected a DOJ bid to force removal of over 20,000 mail-in ballots, and the department has appealed while Los Angeles says it is complying with the law.