Overview
- The governor released a prerecorded Fourth of July address on Saturday that unveiled a proposal to make the unauthorized seizure of ballots a felony under California law.
- Newsom presented the proposal as a direct rebuttal to President Donald Trump’s repeated claims about mail-in voting and slow counts and said the state will prosecute anyone who tampers with ballots.
- Lawmakers approved budget funding to modernize and speed ballot counting, including $29 million for faster tallying and smaller grants for voter outreach and misinformation work.
- Because the formal deadline for new bills has passed, Newsom and legislative leaders are weighing paths to advance the measure by replacing the text of existing bills or inserting the language into current election-related legislation.
- The move follows a high-profile episode in which Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco authorized the seizure of roughly 650,000 ballots that the California Supreme Court blocked, and it signals California’s intent to harden protections against similar actions in the future.