The next election date for Fresno County sheriff and district attorney are on the radar of the California Attorney General, and the will of the voters may be in jeopardy.

In the March election, county voters approved Measure A with 55% of the vote. The measure reversed a 2022 state law setting the next election for the county’s top two law enforcement positions.

Elections for sheriff and DA had been held in years when the governor is elected (non-presidential years, 2026, 2030, etc.), but the 2022 law changed it to presidential primaries (2028, 2032, etc.) with the goal to increase voter turnout.

Presidential primaries generally draw better than non-presidential elections.

Placed on the ballot by the Fresno County Board of Supervisors, voters agreed to change it back — with the next election in 2026 instead of 2028.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said he has been apprised of the voters’ decision.

“We’re looking at the issue. When we have something to announce, if anything, we will. But that is an issue that we have focused on … for some time,” Bonta said.

Bonta appeared in Fresno on Thursday, hosting a roundtable discussion about gun violence prevention.

The voters’ action could conflict with AB 759. The law exempted counties that set their election dates by Jan. 1, 2021 — something Fresno County did not do.

Last October, the Fresno City Council — through City Attorney Andrew Janz — asked Bonta for his opinion on the county measure.

Bonta said his office will “take action when we’ve come to a conclusion.”

Related Story: AG Bonta Says California Has the Blueprint for Reducing Gun Violence Nationwide

Smittcamp, Zanoni Already Fundraising

If AB 759 remains in place, DA Lisa Smittcamp and Sheriff John Zanoni would have a one-time-only six year term, with the next election in 2028.

Smittcamp raised $279,900 in 2023, campaign finance records show. She won her third term in 2022. She started her re-election paperwork prior to Gov. Gavin Newsom signing the date-change law into effect.

Zanoni raised $106,650 in 2023. He won his first term in 2022.

He filed his re-election campaign paperwork prior to the governor approving the law. Initially filed for 2026, Zanoni has since amended his campaign paperwork to run in 2028.

No other candidate for either race has filed paperwork to raise funds.

Bonta Deflects on Campus Protest Question

GV Wire also asked Bonta about ongoing protests on state college campuses.

At UC Santa Cruz, the school went to online only teaching when pro-Palestinian protesters blocked entrances to the university.

And, on Friday, police in riot gear surrounded arm-in-arm protesters at the university to remove an encampment of protesters. Eighty people were arrested, the university said.

Related Story: Police Arrest 80 at UC Santa Cruz Israel-Hamas Protest, School Says

At UCLA and other campuses, protesters stormed buildings and organized tent encampments in the main campus thoroughfare. Law enforcement broke them up.

Bonta focused on hate crimes, rather than holding protesters accountable, in his answer.

“We’re taking on the forces of hate. We’re taking on hate crimes and hate incidents. We’re making sure that every Californian, regardless of who you are, where you’re from, how you pray, how you look, is safe from hate crimes,” Bonta said.

Pressed about actions of the protesters, Bonta referred again to hate crimes, working with district attorneys.

“We focused on preventing hate, from turning from hate incidents to hate crimes. We will continue to focus on it, whether it be anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, hate against any community. That’s the lane that we are working on to make sure community members in California are safe,” Bonta said.

He made similar remarks earlier this month, addressing the Jewish Political Action Committee of California, at a Sacramento lunch speech.