California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a package of bills aimed at strengthening election security, including measures to prevent federal political interference. The governor’s office announced the signing on Sunday.
The package includes an extension of the hours for drop-off of mail-in ballots. Newsom highlighted this measure, describing it as a safeguard against Trump administration attempts to restrict mail-in voting, which the administration claims is rife with fraud. The Supreme Court recently blocked the administration’s proposed changes to mail-in voting, including a requirement that states provide the US Postal Service with lists of eligible voters for ballots cast by mail.
News told Trump that he would not stop until he had secured dictatorial control over free voting and stripped millions of people of their right to vote in November, and that California would stop him at every turn. He added that they had no greater task than fighting to protect the right to vote from interference, as the future of democracy was at stake.
One of the bills makes it a criminal offence to interfere with ballot boxes or election records. This appears to be a reference to Riverside County Sheriff Chad Brown, who earlier this year took possession of more than 650,000 ballots from the 2025 special election for redistricting.
The package sets out the framework for how political campaigns communicate with influencers on social media, with legislation stipulating penalties for individuals who do not disclose paid content. In the recent race for governor in which News was a candidate, the candidate and billionaire philanthropist Tom Steyer found himself the target of criticism for paying thousands of dollars to content creators, who promoted him without adequate disclosure. Steyer was accused of trying to buy the race, with his campaign spokesperson stating that Steyer believed in fair pay for content creators.
News’s package comes after Trump repeatedly called into question the integrity of the 2026 state primaries, claiming without evidence that the slow process of counting was an attempt to rig the outcome. The state’s secretary of state said that California was responding to the moment, stating that no one should doubt the state’s resolve to protect democracy.
