Council vote fails to stop mailing of ballots ahead of court-ordered election

A motion brought by Councilmember Weigand to instruct the city clerk not to mail ballots scheduled to be issued the next day failed on a 3-4 vote at the Newport Beach City Councils special meeting on Sept. 18, 2026.

Weigand moved that the clerk not send the 400 military and overseas ballots slated for distribution tomorrow; Mayor Pro Tem Blom seconded. After discussion about whether the ballots contained only the yes/no questions without pro/con statements, the council took a roll call. The clerk announced the motion "failed" with a 3-to-4 tally. Meeting minutes recorded the opposing votes as Councilmember Grant, Mayor Kliman, Councilmember Stapleton and Councilmember Barto.

Weigand said she feared the accelerated timeline would cause "significant amount of confusion" for voters, particularly military and overseas personnel who would receive ballots containing limited explanatory material. "I would very much encourage my council colleagues to reconsider this process any further and not mail out these ballots tomorrow due to the confusion it will cause," she said.

Opponents emphasized that the council had previously voted to comply with a court writ and that the body must pursue a lawful path forward. Councilmember Grant said the councils responsibility is "to make every good faith effort to comply with the writ," noting a prior majority vote to move the election to Nov. 3, 2026.

The council treated the matter as "receive and file" after the failed motion and moved on to a briefing on rules for motions for reconsideration. No further motions were made and the special meeting was adjourned.