Newsom signs voting laws to counter Trump’s feared interference

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a spate of bills Saturday that aim to safeguard California elections and preemptively address potential actions by President Donald Trump to interfere with election results or limit how Californians can vote.

• Newsom, in a statement: “Trump won’t stop until he can exert dictatorial control over your free vote and disenfranchise millions of people this November. California will stop him at every opportunity.”

Trump avows that his administration is attempting to stop widespread election fraud, which is exceedingly rare, and prevent noncitizens from voting. But critics argue that his actions make it harder for eligible voters to cast their ballots.

Among the 13 bills the governor signed is one that would make it a felony to seize — or order the seizure of — ballots, election records or voting machines before election results are certified. 

Lawmakers introduced the bill after Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco seized more than 600,000 ballots in March for an investigation that Bianco characterized as a “fact-finding mission.” The seizure drew legal challenges from two local Democratic elected officials and the California attorney general, which the state Supreme Court is currently weighing.

Newsom also signed legislation that makes it a felony to interfere with the delivery or return of mail-in ballots. The move comes days after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration’s efforts to limit mail-in voting through new rules issued by the U.S. Postal Service.

Amid concerns among Democrats that the administration could deploy federal agents to intimidate voters at the polls, Newsom also signed a bill banning police officers from making arrests within 200 feet of a polling location on Election Day, except for crimes against a person or property, or crimes related to disrupting people from voting.

Some of the 13 bills faced opposition from Republican legislators, outside groups and individuals. Bianco said one of the bills could expose police officers to felony accusations for acting on a judicial warrant. The First Amendment Coalition opposed a bill that prohibits digitally altered campaign advertisements in a deceptive way. Meanwhile, the California State Sheriffs’ Association opposed a bill over concerns it gives the state’s attorney general too much power.

Other Newsom happenings: The governor issued an executive order directing state agencies to develop artificial intelligence safety recommendations by Nov. 16, reports CalMatters’ Jeanne Kuang. Some of the rules — such as requiring AI developers to include a “kill switch” to shut off programs — were part of a bill he vetoed two years ago. 

Newsom’s reversal comes as public fears grow over AI and its potential catastrophic harms. California’s gubernatorial candidates also say AI warrants more regulations, but details on how they will ensure that remain scant.

Most Californians know they’re tracked as they click online, open smartphone apps, or plunk down their credit cards. 

But what details end up in our digital dossiers?

To find out, CalMatters worked with Consumer Reports and hundreds of volunteers in California and elsewhere.

They used state privacy law to force data brokers to cough up what they know. That turns out to include not just basics like name, address and income, but also thousands of guesses about you. Could you pay for medical expenses? What’s your body mass index? Might you get a mammogram? 

We also discovered more than 100 companies who buy your data, from American Express to Williams Sonoma.

For all the details, see our full investigation or our visual explainer, which brings clarity to the complex world of data brokers.

CalMatters reporters dive into state regulation issues related to the internet and clean energy:

• Broadband internet: Open internet access advocates are urging Newsom to reject a $1.4 billion federal broadband grant that would go toward more than 80 internet access projects affecting more than 270,000 people in underserved areas. Though the California Public Utilities Commission considers the grant a “once in a century” opportunity, the Trump administration is stipulating that California, in order to receive the money, must stop enforcing its net neutrality laws, which say that internet providers cannot slow down or privilege certain websites in favor of others. Read more from Khari Johnson.

• Battery storage facilities: A fire last week at the Moss Landing Power Plant battery energy storage facility in Monterey County is resurfacing fears about battery storage sites as the state increasingly relies on them to reach its clean energy goals. The facility previously caught fire in January 2025, in what became one of the largest battery storage facility fires in history. An investigation to find the root cause for that fire is still underway, a delay that’s frustrating local leaders. Read more from Rachel Becker and Alejandra Reyes-Velarde.

Newsom rejected a proposal that would have enabled state departments to develop their own telework policies, keeping intact the governor’s blanket four-day-a-week in-office mandate for state workers. His veto comes as the state government’s largest union, which supported the bill, is asking its members to authorize a strike. Read more.