Fresno County 2026 Primary Ballot Set, Key Local Races Take Shape

Candidate filing for Fresno County's June 2, 2026 primary closed on March 6, and the ballot is now set for six county offices that will shape local governance for years to come. With at least one guaranteed open seat and a county superintendent seeking her second term, Fresno's 1,008,654 residents face consequential choices up and down the ticket.

What's on the June 2 Ballot

Six county offices are before voters in the June 2 primary. According to Ballotpedia, those seats are:

• Superior Court Judges
• County Board of Supervisors
• Assessor-Recorder
• Auditor-Controller/Treasurer-Tax Collector
• County Clerk/Registrar of Voters
• County Superintendent of Schools

The rules for these local contests differ from statewide and federal races. For every one of the offices listed above, a candidate wins outright if they clear 50% of the vote on June 2. If no candidate reaches that threshold, the top two vote-getters advance to a runoff in the November 3, 2026 general election. For statewide and federal offices on the same ballot, the top two finishers advance to November regardless of party affiliation, a separate standard that applies to those higher-level contests.

The Race to Watch: District 4 Board of Supervisors

The most closely watched contest heading into June is the District 4 seat on the Fresno County Board of Supervisors. Buddy Mendes, who has held that seat since 2015, announced last year that he would retire at the end of his 2026 term. Because there are no term limits for the county board, the decision was entirely his own. The consequence, as Fresnoland reported in Pablo Orihuela's March 13 candidate roundup, is that the seat will have no incumbent on the ballot, creating a genuinely open race for the first time in more than a decade.

Fresnoland noted that the finalized list of District 4 candidates is available in alphabetical order by last name, though the full roster of names was not included in available source material at press time. Voters should consult the Fresno County Clerk's official filings or Fresnoland's March 13 piece for the complete candidate list.

County Superintendent of Schools

The other countywide race with significant reach is the County Superintendent of Schools. Michelle Cantwell-Copher is running for reelection to a position that, as Fresnoland noted, oversees the county's 32 school districts and charter schools. Cantwell-Copher demonstrated strong support in her last campaign, winning the 2022 primary outright with 64.2% of the vote, well above the majority threshold needed to avoid a November runoff. Whether she can replicate that margin will depend on who ultimately filed against her before the March 6 deadline.

Filing Deadlines and Procedural Timeline

The standard candidate filing period ran from February 9 through March 6, 2026. If a qualifying incumbent chose not to file, an extension window opened from March 7 through March 11, giving additional candidates a brief opportunity to enter those races. On March 12, the Fresno County Clerk conducted the randomized alphabet drawing that determines ballot order for candidates, a procedural step that can carry real significance in down-ballot contests where name recognition is limited.

For the November 3 general election, a separate set of local district races will appear on the ballot. The filing deadline for those contests is August 7, 2026. Ballotpedia notes that any of these elections can be canceled outright if only one candidate files, so the August window will determine whether voters actually have contested choices for those seats.

November 3 Local District Races

Beyond the county offices settled in June, several local governing bodies will hold elections on November 3:

• County Board of Education
• Fresno Irrigation District
• Clovis Veterans Memorial District
• Pinedale Public Utility
• Calwa Recreation and Park District
• Pinedale County Water
• State Center Community College District

Candidates for these seats have until August 7 to file nomination papers with the County Clerk.

Voter Calendar: Key Dates from Registration to Results

The Fresno County Clerk's office has published a detailed schedule for the period between now and Election Day. Here are the critical dates:

• April 3 – April 18: Military and overseas voters receive vote-by-mail ballots.
• April 6 – May 19: Write-in candidacy statements may be filed.
• April 23 – May 19: County Voter Information Guides are mailed to registered households.
• May 4 – May 26: Mail ballots are sent to all registered vote-by-mail voters.
• May 4: Early in-person voting begins at the County Clerk's Office, located at 2221 Kern St., Fresno, CA 93721, the only early voting location available at that stage.
• May 18: Last day to register to vote for this election under standard registration rules.
• May 19 – June 2: Conditional Voter Registration is available for those who missed the May 18 deadline; voters can register and cast a provisional ballot simultaneously at designated locations.
• May 23 – June 2: Eleven-day vote centers open countywide, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• May 30 – June 2: All voter centers are open, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• June 2: Election Day polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
• June 9: Final deadline to receive vote-by-mail ballots that were postmarked no later than June 2.

Campaign Finance Requirements

Candidates and their controlled committees are required to file disclosure statements with the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC). The FPPC's Campaign Filing Schedule for local candidates lists a February 2, 2026 deadline for the semi-annual statement covering the period through December 31, 2025, filed on Form 460 (required for all committees) or Form 470 under certain qualifying conditions. Candidates with questions about which form applies to their campaign can contact the FPPC directly at advice@fppc.ca.gov or by calling 1-866-ASK-FPPC. The agency's full guidance is available at fppc.ca.gov.

Residency Requirements for Council and Mayoral Candidates

Candidates running for a Fresno City Council seat must provide the Fresno County Clerk with proof of voter registration in the district where they claim residency. Candidates for Mayor must show registration within the City of Fresno. Beyond registration, candidates must demonstrate to the Fresno City Clerk that they actually resided at the claimed address for at least 30 days before filing nomination papers. Acceptable proof of home ownership includes a copy of a grant deed, a mortgage payment billing statement verifying the address, or any other document that can verify ownership and residency of the property.

Who Is Fresno County

Understanding the stakes of these elections requires knowing who lives here. Fresno County's population of 1,008,654 covers 5,958 square miles of the San Joaquin Valley. The county is notably more Hispanic than California as a whole: 53.4% of residents identify as Hispanic or Latino, compared to 39.1% statewide. The county's white population stands at 60.3% (which includes Hispanic residents who also identify as white under Census methodology), with Asian residents at 10.6%, Black or African American residents at 4.7%, Native American residents at 1.2%, and multiracial residents at 8.5%.

Economically, the county trails the state by significant margins. The median household income is $57,109, compared to $78,672 for California overall. The poverty rate is 20.8%, more than 8 percentage points above the state average of 12.6%. Educational attainment gaps are equally pronounced: 77.3% of Fresno County adults hold a high school diploma, against 83.9% statewide, and only 22% have a college degree, compared to 34.7% across California. Those numbers provide the backdrop against which voters will weigh candidates for offices overseeing county finances, school oversight, and the courts.

With filing closed and the ballot set, the next major milestone is the randomized alphabet drawing already completed on March 12, which established the order in which candidates appear. From here, the race moves to mailboxes, vote centers, and ultimately the polls on June 2.