Newsom Signs SB 73 to Block Ballot Seizures and Election Oversight

Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 73 into law on Wednesday, just days before the June 2 statewide primary. The legislation, authored by Sen. Sabrina Cervantes (D-Riverside) with co-author Sen. Tom Umberg (D-Orange County) and Assemblymember Gail Pellerin (D-Santa Cruz), makes it a felony for law enforcement, including federal agents, to seize ballots, access voter rolls, or interfere with certified voting equipment without a court order or specific authorization tied to a violation of state election law. 

The bill passed the Legislature along party lines and took effect immediately upon signing as an urgency measure. It was fast-tracked in direct response to Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco’s earlier seizure of more than 600,000 ballots from the Prop 50 special election as part of a fraud investigation. The investigation was halted by the California Supreme Court, but Bianco’s scrutiny became the catalyst for Democrats to push for new “protections.” 

Newsom hailed the bill as a necessary safeguard “as Trump and MAGA assault democracy,” claiming it protects voters, election workers, and ballot security from “interference and intimidation.” In his announcement, he declared: “California will not allow our elections to be commandeered by political intimidation, abuse of power, or chaotic interference from extremists chasing conspiracy theories...We’re not sitting idly by — we’re safeguarding California’s elections.” 

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli responded directly: “Not to worry. This bill has no effect on federal criminal investigations. We have and will continue to investigate election fraud.” 

Not to worry. This bill has no effect on federal criminal investigations. We have and will continue to investigate election fraud. https://t.co/JndwVLcMAJ

— F.A. United States Attorney Bill Essayli (@USAttyEssayli) May 28, 2026

With his eyes on the oval office, Newsom has repeatedly framed federal and local efforts to examine California’s elections as politically motivated attacks by “Trump and MAGA” forces. His office’s statement on SB 73 ties the bill to “growing threats of election interference and intimidation, including efforts by allies of President Donald Trump to undermine confidence in elections.” 

Newsom’s rhetoric distracts from California’s documented vulnerabilities and resistance to transparency as historically and chronically documented by this outlet. 

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Cervantes, stated it is a “direct response to efforts by officials in the Trump Administration and local elected leaders to undermine our democracy piece by piece.”

Essayli’s intervention highlights that federal criminal authority operates under the Supremacy Clause (not to mention that elections are indeed a matter of national security). State law cannot fully impede legitimate federal probes into issues like voter fraud, double voting, or non-citizen voting. Cervantes and Sacramento Democrats may need to be refreshed that protecting the integrity of American elections transcends state boundaries and falls squarely within federal jurisdiction. 

Californians deserve transparent, auditable elections, not barriers disguised as protections.