Senators Kill Ban—Predators Stay Eligible

California Democrats just blocked a bill that would have kept registered child sex predators off the ballot, leaving them free to run your school board, city council, and even the state legislature.

Story Snapshot

Registered sex offenders in California can still legally run for and hold local or state public office.
Assembly Bill 2753, written after a child porn convict tried to run for Fresno City Council, was killed in a Senate committee.
Democrat Senator Scott Wiener led the opposition and demanded a weaker version that only covered the most serious offenders.
A separate, watered-down bill moved forward that still allows people convicted of felony child sex crimes, including rape, to run for office.

How A Child Porn Convict Sparked a Bill to Protect Voters

Assemblywoman Esmeralda Soria of Merced introduced Assembly Bill 2753 after a local shock in Fresno. In 2018, Rene Campos was convicted for possessing child sex abuse material, and in 2023 he tried to run for Fresno City Council. Local voters and leaders were outraged that someone on the sex offender registry could ask for their trust in public office. Soria said she promised her community she would work to stop that from ever happening again.

Soria’s bill was simple on paper. It said that anyone required to register as a sex offender could not run for or hold any local or state public office in California. That meant school boards, city councils, county offices, and seats in the state legislature. The bill covered all three tiers of California’s registry system, from less serious cases up to lifetime registrants for crimes like child rape and sex trafficking. Fresno City Council President Nelson Esparza went to Sacramento and testified in support, backing his community’s demand for basic protection.

What California Law Still Allows — Even After the Hearing

Today in California, if a registered sex offender meets the basic age and residency rules, the law does not automatically stop them from running for office. That gap is what AB 2753 tried to close. The Assembly Elections Committee passed the bill, showing there was enough concern in at least one chamber to move it forward. But when it reached the State Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee, the bill hit a wall of resistance from key Democrats, even as child safety groups backed tougher rules.

During the Senate hearing, committee chair Scott Wiener, a Democrat from San Francisco, argued the bill was too broad. He said he would only support a version that applied to Tier 3 offenders, the lifetime registrants convicted of the most serious crimes like child rape. Supporters of AB 2753 warned that carving out large parts of the registry would leave many dangerous offenders free to seek office. They also stressed that voters should never have to guess whether an elected official once preyed on children or possessed child abuse material.

How Democrats Killed the Bill and Kept Predators Eligible

Faced with pressure to weaken her bill, Assemblywoman Soria refused to narrow the ban just to lifetime offenders, saying that would not keep her community safe enough. Because she rejected Wiener’s amendment, the Senate committee held a vote on the full bill and narrowly killed it. That single committee decision stopped AB 2753 from advancing, even though the Assembly had already cleared it and Fresno leaders begged for action. Lawmakers then left for a month-long summer recess, leaving no quick path to revive the effort.

Romeo-and-Juliet Talk vs. Real Child Sex Crimes

Opponents of the bill leaned heavily on a familiar talking point: so-called “Romeo and Juliet” cases. They warned that some people on the registry are there because of consensual relationships between young people close in age, and argued that a blanket ban would be unfair. But that argument never answered the central problem that sparked AB 2753 in the first place — a man convicted for possessing child sex abuse material trying to sit on a city council. Supporters say that is not teenage romance; it is exploitation of kids.

AB 2753, Assemblywoman Esmeralda Soria’s bill aimed at preventing registered sex offenders from running for local or state public office in California, failed to advance Tuesday in the Senate Elections Committee.#AB2753 #CaliforniaPolitics #MercedCounty pic.twitter.com/0tg46Voosz

— Los Banos Enterprise (@LosBanosCaNews) June 30, 2026

California’s own laws show how serious many registry cases are. Tier 3 covers thousands of offenders convicted of crimes like rape, sex crimes against children under 10, and sex trafficking of minors, who must register for life. Even Tier 2 includes lewd acts with minors and other serious offenses. Despite that, the Senate committee advanced a separate bill that had been weakened so that even people convicted of felony child sex crimes, including rape, can still run for office. That choice alarmed parents who expect the state to draw clear lines around public trust and child safety.

What This Fight Means for Families and Future Elections

This clash over AB 2753 fits a larger pattern. Across the country, single shocking cases of offenders trying to run for office push lawmakers to consider bans, but those efforts often stall when activists raise abstract concerns about rights and edge cases. In California, the Justice Department reports that only a handful of registered sex offenders have even tried to run for office since 2010, and none have been elected. Supporters say that makes it easy for lawmakers to dodge the issue while the risk sits in the background until the next crisis.

For conservative readers, the stakes are clear. Parents who work, pay taxes, and teach their kids right from wrong now have to watch ballots closely in case a registered offender shows up alongside normal candidates. Under California’s current rules, someone convicted of possessing child sex abuse material, or even more violent crimes, can still seek power over budgets, police, and schools. Supporters of AB 2753 argue that basic common sense — and respect for victims — demands a bright-line rule: if you are on the sex offender registry, you do not belong in public office, period.