California Enacts Law to Protect Election Integrity Amid Ballot Seizure Controversy

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 73 into law on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, a measure designed to safeguard the state's elections from political intimidation and unauthorized interference. The law makes it illegal to grant unauthorized access to voter rolls, voter lists, or certified voting technology to law enforcement without a court order or investigation into specific election law violations.

It also restricts law enforcement from interfering with election workers unless there is a public safety emergency and imposes penalties of up to three years in prison, a $1,000 fine, or both for taking marked ballots from the custody of a county registrar of voters.

The legislation was a direct response to an investigation by Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Bianco, who obtained search warrants to seize ballots and election materials from Riverside County. Bianco's probe was based on an allegation from a citizen's election watchdog group of a 45,000-vote gap between Proposition 50 ballots cast and received.

However, the county's registrar of voters reported that the actual gap was only 103 votes, well within the acceptable margin of error. Critics argue that the investigation undermines public confidence in elections, while Bianco defends it as necessary to preserve faith in the electoral process.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued to stop the investigation, and the state Supreme Court paused it in April pending further judicial review. State Senator Sabrina Cervantes, D-Riverside, the bill's lead author, stated that the seized Riverside County ballots can no longer be used in future investigations or audits because the chain of custody was broken.

The bill passed the Senate by a 29-8 vote and the Assembly by a 57-19 vote.

The White House criticized Newsom, with spokesperson Abigail Jackson referencing a previous comment by the governor about a 'break-the-glass scenario' to shape election outcomes. Jackson added that President Trump is committed to ensuring Americans have full confidence in election administration.

The law comes amid broader national debates over election integrity, with Trump continuing to falsely claim that the 2020 election was stolen and with allies like Steve Bannon suggesting deploying federal immigration enforcement to polling sites.