SF Chronicle: 'Democracy is on the line': Newsom signs wave of election protections

In another defense against election interference in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Friday that expands an existing ballot protection law to prevent the destruction of election data stored on electronic media.  The bill - by state Sen. Sabrina Cervantes, D-Riverside - includes an urgency clause that requires the legislation to immediately take effect, ensuring the protections apply in the upcoming Nov. 3 election. Cervantes filed Senate Bill 1418 in February in response to Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco's unprecedented seizure of 650,000 local voters' ballots from last November's Proposition 50 election, in which voters approved new congressional maps favoring Democrats in the 2026 midterms.

"In California, we will not allow our democracy to be taken from us," Cervantes, a Riverside County native, said in a statement Saturday.  "SB1418 is direly needed as we face an attack on democratic principles by both the federal administration and local elected officials." 

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