California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a package of 13 bills in Los Angeles on Saturday, targeting potential interference in the state’s upcoming midterm elections.
The Democratic governor has repeatedly warned that President Trump’s administration would attempt to meddle in the November elections, and the signing reflects those long-standing concerns.
“Donald Trump won’t stop until he can exert dictatorial control over your free vote and disenfranchise millions of people this November,” Newsom said in a statement accompanying the signing.
“California will stop him at every opportunity,” he continued, framing the legislation as a direct response to what he sees as a coordinated effort to undermine democratic participation.
“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,” Newsom added, describing the bills as reinforcing a broader wall of electoral protections the state has built.
Among the measures included in the package is a prohibition on the seizure of ballots or election records before results have been officially certified by authorities.
The legislation also imposes felony penalties on authority figures who direct employees to interfere in the delivery of mail-in ballots, a move that targets coercive pressure within institutional settings.
Another bill prohibits arrests within 200 feet of a polling place on Election Day, with narrow exceptions carved out for acts that directly disrupt the election or constitute crimes against persons or property.
Two additional bills within the package take direct aim at artificial intelligence-generated deepfake advertisements, reflecting growing concern over the role of synthetic media in electoral manipulation.
Justin Levitt, a law professor at Loyola Marymount University who previously worked on voting rights for the Biden administration, said the new state laws add small but meaningful protections to California’s ability to prevent outside involvement in its ballot process.
The signing ceremony took place at the Democracy Center in Los Angeles, a location Newsom’s office noted had previously been targeted by federal agents in what it described as an effort to politically intimidate California officials and the broader Los Angeles community.
The legislation follows months of legal conflict over Trump’s efforts to reshape voting rules before November, including an executive order he signed in March directing federal agencies to compile citizenship lists of eligible voters and restrict mail ballot delivery accordingly.
Democratic officials in 23 states and Washington, D.C., sued over that executive order, and federal judges have repeatedly blocked it from taking effect since it was issued.
Trump and his allies have also been linked to voter roll purges, the deployment of armed federal personnel near election sites, and efforts to access voting systems, ballots, and election equipment, including a reported seizure of ballots in Fulton County.
