Newsom signs California election protection laws

What Newsom signed

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a package of election protection bills in Los Angeles on Sept. 19, 2026. The measures create new felony offenses involving ballots, election records, voting technology and other parts of California’s election system.

The package includes Assembly Bill 282, authored by Assemblymember Gail Pellerin, and Senate Bill 259, authored by Sen. Aisha Wahab. State officials presented the laws as safeguards against interference by federal officials, supervisors who direct other people and anyone else who attempts to disrupt election administration.

Newsom signed the measures at the Democracy Center. His administration said federal agents had gone to the site the previous year in an effort to intimidate California officials and members of the Los Angeles community. That description reflects the Newsom administration’s account of the incident.

The governor tied the signing to a July 4 pledge to defend voting in California from political interference. He accused President Donald Trump of seeking greater control over voting and said the state would resist efforts to disenfranchise voters.

The felony penalties in AB 282

AB 282 makes it a felony to seize—or cause or help with the seizure of—ballots, election records or certified voting technology before the responsible election official certifies the results.

The law also applies to a person who has authority over someone else and directs that subordinate to carry out such a seizure before certification. That provision addresses not only the person who physically takes election materials but also a supervisor who orders or facilitates the act.

Certification is a key point in the law. The felony provisions cover seizures that occur while election officials are still completing the formal process of confirming results. The protected items include cast ballots, official election records and voting equipment that has been certified for use.

The broader package also includes SB 259, which creates a felony related to a person in authority directing someone under that person’s supervision to interfere with election delivery.

Why California officials acted

Newsom’s office connected the new laws to recent disputes between California and the Trump administration over voting procedures and federal involvement in elections.

The governor’s office said Trump had threatened to deploy federal officers to polling places and had sought access to private voter information and election records. The package is intended to strengthen state protections against those forms of intervention.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta also linked the legislation to a U.S. Supreme Court decision concerning mail voting. Bonta said the ruling blocked the Trump administration from making broad changes involving the U.S. Postal Service and mail ballots before the November midterm election.

Secretary of State Shirley Weber said the package was intended to prevent voters from being intimidated or silenced. Her office oversees California elections, while county officials handle much of the direct work of administering voting and counting ballots.

What comes next

The laws give California authorities additional criminal provisions to use when ballots, records or certified election technology are seized or targeted before results are certified. Their practical effect will depend on how state and local officials implement them and how prosecutors apply the new felony offenses.

The package also sets up a continuing state-federal conflict over election oversight. Actions involving federal officers at polling places, requests for voter data or election records, and changes affecting mail-ballot delivery could test how the new state protections operate alongside federal authority.

California voters can expect state and county election officials to remain responsible for administering the November election, including handling ballots, maintaining election records and completing certification.