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Governor Newsom signs new laws to protect California elections from Trump interference

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Sep 19, 2026

Governor Newsom signs new laws to protect California elections from Trump interference

What you need to know: As Donald Trump escalates his attacks on free and fair elections ahead of November, Governor Newsom today signed new laws creating felony penalties for interfering with California's ballots and election systems — strengthening California's defenses against any attempts by federal officials or anyone else to undermine our elections.

LOS ANGELES — At the Democracy Center, where federal agents last year sought to politically intimidate California officials and the broader Los Angeles community, Governor Gavin Newsom today signed a package of bills to protect elections in California from interference and political meddling, including creating new felonies for those who do so.

This election-protection package fulfills his promise from July 4, when, as part of the 250th anniversary of America's independence, he pledged to defend and protect the ballot against political interference, particularly from the Trump Administration's relentless efforts to destroy the right to vote for millions of Californians.

"Donald Trump won't stop until he can exert dictatorial control over your free vote and disenfranchise millions of people this November. California will stop him at every opportunity. We have no bigger task than fighting to protect the right to vote from interference and meddling – the future of democracy is on the line. These bills today build upon the wall California has built to safeguard our electoral process."

Governor Gavin Newsom

This latest action comes after the U.S. Supreme Court blocked Trump's attack on the country's electoral process by attempting to use the U.S. Postal Service to restrict access to vote-by-mail, a safe and secure method used widely throughout the country. But it's clear Trump will continue his efforts to interfere with the November election. He has already threatened to send federal officers to polling places and sought to access private voter data and election records.

"California is meeting the moment and with this package of bills, erecting a shield against multiple attacks against our elections and our system of government. No one should doubt the degree of our resolve in protecting our democracy," said Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, Ph.D. "This legislative package ensures that California voters will not be silenced or intimidated. We want all voters, and future voters who will follow, to understand that every measure to defend their constitutional right to vote and have their voices heard is being taken to assure their ability to make the decisions that matter the most in their communities, the State of California, and the United States of America."

"The Trump Administration is waging an all-out assault on our elections and voting rights, and California refuses to stand idly by," said Attorney General Rob Bonta. "Just this week, we secured a major U.S. Supreme Court victory that blocks the Trump Administration from implementing sweeping changes to mail voting for the upcoming November midterm elections. But we cannot, and will not, let our guard down. I have sponsored and supported multiple pieces of legislation to protect our democracy, and I'm grateful that Governor Newsom and the Legislature have now acted to further safeguard the right to vote."

The election protection and pro-democracy bill package
  • AB 282 (Pellerin) – Makes it a felony 1) to seize or cause or assist in the seizure of ballots, election records, or certified voting technology before election results are certified by the elections official and 2) for any person with authority to direct another person subject to their supervision or authority to seize ballots, election records, or certified voting technology before election results are certified.
  • SB 259 (Wahab) – Makes it a felony for a person with authority to direct a person subject to their supervision or authority to interfere with the delivery or return of a vote by mail (VBM) ballot. This bill also makes it a misdemeanor for a person who has charge of a VBM ballot to interfere with its delivery to a voter.
  • AB 2103 (Irwin) – Establishes the Engaged California Program within the Office of Data and Innovation inside the Government Operations Agency.
  • AB 502 (Pellerin) – Makes modifications to provisions of law that prohibit anyone, with malice, from knowingly distributing a campaign advertisement or other election communication containing materially deceptive content unless certain conditions are met.
  • AB 686 (Berman) – Extends the sunset date, from January 1, 2027, to January 1, 2031, on the prohibition on distributing materially deceptive audio or visual media (i.e., "deepfakes") with actual malice with the intent to injure a candidate's reputation or to deceive a voter into voting for or against a candidate, unless the media includes a disclosure that it has been manipulated.
  • AB 1130 (Berman)  – Allows administrative, civil, or criminal penalties to be imposed against a person who is paid by a campaign committee to post online political content in support of or in opposition to a candidate or measure if the person fails to include the required disclaimer that the person is being paid.
  • AB 1664 (Jackson) – Requires a local agency, political subdivision, or elections official to provide notice to the Secretary of State and the California Attorney General immediately, but no later than one calendar day, after becoming aware of any warrant, subpoena, or active law enforcement investigation pertaining to the search, seizure, or retention of any election records or certified voting technology.
  • AB 2281 (Berman) – Requires the Secretary of State to assess whether additional state resources are needed to replace election cybersecurity resources previously provided by the federal government and permits the Office of Elections Cybersecurity to consult with academic researchers to develop best practices for protecting against threats to election cybersecurity.
  • SB 1164 (Cervantes) – Revises and expands the California Voting Rights Act of 2001 to further protect voters from voter suppression and vote dilution.
  • SB 1360 (Cervantes) – Increases language access services and the types of translated election-related materials for voters.
  • SB 884 (Umberg) – Extends the time vote by mail drop off locations are open and modifies the type and range of prohibited activities near a polling location for elections held or proclaimed in 2026, 2027, 2028, and 2029.
  • SB 1418 (Cervantes) – Makes it a crime to take election materials or voting technology from the custody of election officials and expands the types of materials required for preservation if an election contest or criminal proceeding is ongoing.
  • SB 1420 (Richardson) – Requires the Secretary of State to promulgate regulations establishing uniform procedures for election officials that allow a voter to vote their VBM ballot at a polling location without the VBM ballot's identification envelope; and 2) requires information to be included in the state voter information guide about early in-person voting opportunities.

This bill package builds on the Governor's continued protection from potential federal or other state interference. Earlier today, the Governor signed SB 1354 (Archuleta), which draws a clear line around state-to-state military deployments and preserves California's sovereignty over military forces operating within its borders.

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A record of defending democracy

Today's action builds on Governor Newsom's long legacy of defending democracy:

Earlier this year, the Governor signed Senate Bill 73 (Cervantes and Umberg), which bars law enforcement — including federal agents — from accessing or disrupting voter rolls, election technology, or election workers without a court order or investigation into a specific violation of state election law, while directing the state DOJ to issue guidance to county officials on handling such request or efforts to access areas where voters cast ballots or votes are counted. The law also criminalizes knowingly seizing ballots from election officials' custody, punishable by up to a $1,000 fine, three years imprisonment, or both.

Last year, Governor Newsom signed:
  • SB 3 (Cervantes) — requires that public vote counts are updated more regularly and made changes to the signature curing process for vote by mail ballots.
  • SB 42 (Umberg) — puts on the November 2026 ballot a measure to repeal the ban on public financing of elections in California, extending to all cities and counties the ability to create programs for publicly financed elections, helping level the playing field for candidates and reducing the ability of millionaires and billionaires to essentially buy elections.
  • SB 398 (Umberg) — criminalizes offering payments and other valuable items to incentivize voting or voter registration. The bill defines "other valuable consideration" to include a chance to win a lottery or prize-drawing contest. The crime would be punishable by imprisonment, a fine of up to $10,000, or both fine and imprisonment.
  • AB 5 (Berman) — requires election officials to finish counting all ballots by the 13th day following Election Day unless certain conditions are met.
  • AB 16 (Alanis) — extended the time before the election date that vote by mail ballots can be processed.

In 2024, Governor Newsom signed:
  • AB 2655 (Berman) — requires large online platforms to remove or label deceptive and digitally altered or created content related to elections during specified periods, and requires them to provide mechanisms to report such content. It also authorizes candidates, elected officials, elections officials, the Attorney General, and a district attorney or city attorney to seek injunctive relief against a large online platform for noncompliance with the act.
  • AB 2839 (Pellerin) — expands the timeframe in which a committee or other entity is prohibited from knowingly distributing an advertisement or other election material containing deceptive AI-generated or manipulated content. The bill also expands the scope of existing law to prohibit materially deceptive content of elected officials, candidates, elections officials and others, authorizing them to file a civil action to enjoin the distribution of such material.
  • AB 2355 (Carrillo) — requires that electoral advertisements using AI-generated or substantially altered content feature a disclosure that the material has been altered. The bill authorizes the Fair Political Practices Commission to enforce a violation of these disclosure requirements by seeking injunctive relief to compel compliance or pursuing other remedies available to the commission under the Political Reform Act.

And in the years prior, Governor Newsom signed 10 bills into law in 2021 that safeguard elections and increase access so more Californians can lawfully participate, in 2020 the Governor took several actions (here, here, here) to ensure Californians could participate despite the ongoing global pandemic, and in 2019 Governor Newsom signed more than 17 bills into law to defend democracy — including some of the nation's first that address deepfakes.

Investments to increase awareness and speed up elections

In his final budget, the Governor and Legislature included several key investments in the state's election system:
  • $29 million for increased staffing, technology and equipment upgrades and purchases for counties to speed up counting and increase capacity.
  • $5 million for voter outreach and education at the county level to help Californians know resources and tools available in their community.
  • $5 million for voter outreach and education at the statewide level via the office of Secretary of State.
  • $750,000 to support statewide efforts to combat mis- and disinformation and ensure the state is prepared to guard against federal interference.

Trump's history of attacking American democracy

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Trump and his allies have spent years attacking the foundations of American democracy and undermining confidence in free and fair elections. After losing the 2020 election, Trump pressured state officials to overturn certified results — including infamously demanding Georgia's Secretary of State "find" enough votes to reverse the outcome — while simultaneously promoting false claims of widespread voter fraud that were rejected by courts, election officials on both sides of the aisle, and even members of his own administration. He backed the fake electors scheme in multiple battleground states, pressured former Vice President Mike Pence to block certification of the Electoral College vote despite lacking any constitutional authority to do so, and later granted sweeping clemency to individuals connected to the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol that sought to stop the peaceful transfer of power.

Trump and his allies have also fueled voter intimidation efforts through repeated false claims about noncitizen voting, pushed aggressive voter roll purges, deployed armed federal personnel near election sites, and sought access to voting systems, ballots, voter data, and election equipment — including the seizure of ballots in Fulton County (https://georgiarecorder.com/2026/01/28/fbi-raids-fulton-county-elections-warehouse-seeking-2020-ballots/).

Press releases (https://www.gov.ca.gov/category/press-releases/), Top story (https://www.gov.ca.gov/category/top-story/)

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