California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday signed a slew of bills meant to prevent the federal government from interfering in the midterm elections.
Newsom, in a statement, said the 13 new laws build on steps California has already taken to safeguard the electoral process.
“Donald Trump won’t stop until he can exert dictatorial control over your free vote and disenfranchise millions of people this November,” Newsom said. “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.”
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Among the 13 bills signed is one that makes it a felony to seize, or assist in the seizure, of ballots, election records, or certified voting technology before election results are certified by officials. California’s Supreme Court recently heard arguments in a ballot seizure case concerning Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco. Bianco seized more than 650,000 ballots cast in 2025’s election over Proposition 50.
A different piece of legislation makes it a felony for “a person with authority” to direct someone else under their supervision to interfere with the delivery or return of a vote by mail ballot.
One bill extends the time vote-by-mail drop-off locations are open.
These vote-by-mail measures come as the Supreme Court recently blocked mail-in voting restrictions sought by Trump. Postmaster General David Steiner told The Associated Press on Thursday work on a computer system meant to facilitate these restrictions stopped once the court ruling came down.
“There’s an injunction so we’re not doing anything,” Steiner said.
Amid concerns that federal immigration agents could be sent to polling places, another bill signed forbids arrests within 200 feet of a polling place on Election Day, except for crimes disrupting the operation of the polling place or acts against a person or property.
Newsom signed the bill package at the Democracy Center at the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo. Last August, U.S. Border Patrol agents carried out enforcement operations during a rally Newsom had to talk about California’s redistricting plan. Newsom at the time called this a “targeted stunt driven by politics.”
Justin Levitt, a law professor at Loyola Marymount University, told The New York Times these newly signed laws act as small but meaningful protections from outside involvement in California’s elections.
“There’s a vigilante mood afoot,” Mr. Levitt said. “This acts as a little bit of a deterrent for people who are cosplaying election officials.”
Bill Essayli, first Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, in response to Newsom’s bill signing, said on X “nothing a state governor signs can prevent the Justice Department from conducting lawful investigations into voter fraud.”
Trump and other administration officials have repeatedly made false claims about voter fraud in the U.S., despite experts saying elections are “fundamentally secure.” Numerous studies have shown that fraud, as well as non-citizens voting in federal elections, is very rare.
“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,” Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber said. “This legislative package ensures that California voters will not be silenced or intimidated.”