California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 73 on Wednesday, expanding the state’s election security protections by restricting unauthorized law enforcement access to polling places, banning military personnel from voting locations, and making it a felony to seize voted ballots ahead of the June 2 statewide primary election.
The bill, authored by state Senator Sabrina Cervantes (D-Riverside), builds on Senate Bill 851, which Newsom signed in October 2025, criminalizing station law enforcement at or near polling places without written authorization from county election officials. The new bill additionally empowers California’s secretary of state and attorney general to veto such authorization, prohibits the warrantless search or seizure of voting machines and voter rolls, and grants the attorney general, secretary of state, and relevant elections officials the ability to seek injunctive relief and civil penalties against violators.
The new law’s urgency clause allows it to take effect immediately, in time for the June 2 statewide primary. Cervantes cited the March 2026 seizure of more than 600,000 certified ballots from the Riverside County Registrar of Voters by Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco as a catalyst for the measure. Bianco, a Republican gubernatorial candidate, launched an investigation into the outcome of the November 2025 special election. The California Supreme Court halted the investigation, and the ballots were returned, though Cervantes noted the chain of custody had been permanently broken.
In a May press release, Cervantes said: “Senate Bill 73 builds on the foundation established by my SB 851 from 2025, strengthening California’s safeguards against election interference in time for the June 2 statewide primary election.”
The bill also comes amid broader tensions between California officials and the Trump administration over federal election oversight. In October 2025, the US Department of Justice deployed federal election monitors to five California counties ahead of the November vote on Proposition 50, a redistricting measure that was subsequently challenged in federal court. California Attorney General Rob Bonta responded by deploying state observers to the same polling locations. Governor Newsom called the federal monitors an attempt at voter intimidation.
Senate Bill 73 passed the state Assembly 57-19 on May 22 and cleared the Senate 29-8 on May 26, largely along party lines. No statement from legislators who voted against the bill was immediately available. With its urgency clause, the law takes effect upon the governor’s signature, giving election officials new legal tools to protect polling place access and ballot custody when California voters go to the polls on June 2.
