Cervantes’ Bill Safeguarding California Elections Records from Interference Signed by Governor

(LOS ANGELES) – On Friday, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 1418 by Senator Sabrina Cervantes (D-Riverside), a bill that directly improves defenses against election interference in California. SB 1418 builds on Senate Bill 73, which the Governor signed into law earlier this year, by extending many of the chain-of-custody protections for voted ballots in that bill to other forms of election records. To provide these protections for the November midterm elections, SB 1418 includes an urgency clause that allows its provisions to take effect immediately. California Attorney General Rob Bonta sponsored the bill.

“In California, we will not allow our democracy to be taken from us. SB 1418 is direly needed as we face an attack on democratic principles by both the federal administration and local elected officials,” said Senator Cervantes. “The enactment of Senate Bill 1418 further protects the integrity of California’s elections as we head into the midterm elections. Thank you to Governor Newsom for signing this vital bill into law to ensure that election records cannot be seized from the custody of county registrars.”

In March, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco seized and relocated more than 600,000 voted ballots from the November 2025 statewide special election on Proposition 50 from the Riverside County Registrar of Voters, an act driven by baseless conspiracy theories. At the time, state law was clear: after election results are certified, the chain of custody for voted ballots must remain intact. This statute maintains the evidentiary value of those ballots for future investigations or audits. If the chain of custody is broken, there is no guarantee that the ballots have not been tampered with or altered. For these reasons, the ballots the sheriff confiscated are tainted forever because his seizure broke that chain of custody. Unfortunately, at the time, state law did not impose penalties for seizing ballots from a county registrar. Although the California Supreme Court had halted his investigation, the only consequence the sheriff faced was the prospect of having to pay his own attorney’s fees after the Riverside County Board of Supervisors refused to do so.

With the Governor’s signature yesterday, the bill becomes law and takes effect immediately, putting its protections in place for the upcoming statewide election on November 3. You can read more about Senate Bill 1418 here. 

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