Elections — 2026-08-26 (partial)

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Thank you, Chair and members. Just this year in California and Georgia, conspiracy theorists seeking to undermine long ago certified election results seized and attempted to seize ballots and election records. These actions are abhorrent to state autonomy and authority over elections. But the chaos and threat to our elections would have been even more devastating had these bad actors engaged in this conduct before election routes had been certified. AB 282 seeks to prevent the gravest threat to our elections by preventing any attempts to seize ballots, election records, and certified voting technology before elections results are certified. AB 282 makes clear that interfering with ballots or voting equipment before an election is certified is a serious offense with serious consequences. Specifically, it will make it a felony to seize, cause, or assist in the seizure of ballots, election records, or certified voting technology before election results are certified by the elections official, punishable up to three years in prison. It further prohibits any person with authority from directing someone in their supervision to do the same, punishable by up to four years in prison. The federal administration and those seeking to spread lies about our democracy continue to call for interference in elections in ways never seen before in our country's history. With increasing threats to the integrity of our state-administered elections, California must ensure that every lawfully cast vote can be counted and that the will of the voters is respected. And we must be a step ahead of any attempts to undermine our elections. So I had someone here. Oh, yes, you're here. To testify in support is Beth Malinowski with the Government Relations Advocate for SEIU California.

Great. Is there any additional support for AB 282? Please come forward and state your name, organization, if any.

Good afternoon, Jessica Hay with Ask Me California in support.

It would prohibit the seizure of ballots unless there's an agreement with the elections official for chain of custody, for transport, or security.

I would not look at the, I mean, the warrant does not give you an authority to come in and seize ballots. When I was an elections official, if there was any challenge to the elections and the ballots, they would come to us and be under the security of our system to ensure the ballots are retained in a secure place to make sure that there nobody They never leave the site or the security of the elections official So all the work that needs to be done is if there a recount or any kind of investigation that is done within the elections office under the guidance of the elections official. I'm not sure what exactly took place in Riverside.

and forcibly any civilian will come there or try to seize the record of the ballots. I think what happened in Riverside was horrific and that they came in and seized ballots without any control.

The sheriff. the county sheriff.

With breaking the chain of custody, removing ballots from the security of the elections official jeopardizes the integrity of those ballots. And if it were my county when I was a county clerk, I would have chained myself to the door to prohibit anyone coming in to take those ballots outside of my control. This one I understand is under right now litigation.

I haven't had any chance to study what took place or why that kind of incident took place in Riverside, but I haven't heard that kind of situations. And this is like, it's gonna happen, but the federal agent, the Trump administration, is threatening all the state upcoming ballots. So that is the fear-mongering feeling that I read from this bill. This is a particular one situation we need to enact a bill.

We worked in an elections office for over 27 years, and we absolutely guarded every step along the way of those ballots. And what this bill does is before the results are certified, we absolutely had very strict chain of custody procedures in place. And yes, there were people who talked about trying to interfere with that process. So maybe you're not aware of situations, but I know that our elections officials are very much on guard. And we have plenty, we've seen plenty of evidence that the president and his allies are willing to break longstanding norms and push the limits of the law to pursue their election conspiracy theories. So this bill is absolutely necessary to ensure, to give the voters confidence that their vote will be protected.

So this bill will capture him and try him and fine him $10,000 or whatever that you have mentioned here. I think that's $10,000 and three, four years in jail.

Well, I mean, I think we're living in very different conditions now. I mean, before January 6, 2021, when a violent mob had stormed the Capitol, no one had ever anticipated something like that happening. And I can't think of a time when any president encourage people to do something like this. So this isn't a hypothetical problem. It isn't a conspiracy theory. We have seen the first steps already, and we are doing everything in our power to protect the voters of this state.

Ballot should never leave the custody and security of the elections.

There are procedures in place when there's any kind of challenge to an election where ballots are moved under the custody and security of the elections official. And yes, there are times as elections officials where we partner with our local law enforcement to provide greater security around the transport of ballots from point A to point B. But there is never a situation where anyone should come in and take voting equipment, take ballots away from the elections office.

They are not allowed to seize the ballots.

There is never a reason to take ballots away from the custody and security of the elections official.

Only if the elections official has an agreement with a body to help with the security and transport of the ballots.

I would say absolutely not. We will keep them in the security of our system where we have cameras on those ballots.

Then arrest me. I mean, I would not let those ballots and that voting equipment out of my custody, period.

This bill is going to make it so that would not happen again, make it very clear that no one is allowed to come in and take ballots for any reason. We got to maintain, you got to understand, we have to maintain that chain of custody.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you, Assemblymember Pellerin, for bringing this bill. I suppose there was one bright spot in respect to Sheriff Bianco seizing the ballots. is that it happened earlier so that we could ensure that for the November election that we could make sure that this would not happen. Again, it's not a hypothetical situation, as you point out. This should give the election official a tool to resist an illegal entry or even one with a purported warrant. By the way, I read the warrant in this, including the supporting affidavits, And I believe that a court of appeal would have quashed, maybe even another judge would have quashed that warrant, but certainly a court of appeal would have quashed whatever instrument was being used to ostensibly seize the ballots. I'd love to be added as a co-author. It's probably too late. But I most heartily endorse this bill and urge an aye vote. Thank you.

Thank you. I just want to make a note here, just given the conversation and the back and forth, that in April, the California Supreme Court did halt the investigation that occurred in Riverside County with Sheriff Bianco. And what this sheriff was willing to do was unprecedented, as was stated by the author. And if he was willing to violate every constitutional norm and interfere with our elections, what more will he do? And so I strongly support this bill today before us and will motion at the appropriate time if it hasn't been motioned.

I appreciate your comments and the comments from your colleagues here and to protect democracy and the security of our elections, I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

No.

Aye. Umberg, aye.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Hear me okay here? We are here today to present Senate Bill 1418. As was stated, we cannot stand by while this administration, President Trump and his administration and some in our state try to dismantle our democracy piece by piece. That is why earlier this year the legislature approved and Governor Newsom signed into law by Senate Bill 73, which would bolster California's defenses against interference in our elections. Senate Bill 1418 is a follow-up to Senate Bill 73 and is sponsored by the California Attorney General Rob Bonta. As many know and have heard, in March of this year, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco seized more than 600,000 voted ballots from last year's special election in Prop 50. from Riverside County Registrar of Voters in a sham investigation. At the time, existing law was clear that after the certification of election results, the chain of custody of voted ballots must remain intact, even if there is an ongoing investigation, meaning that those ballots must remain in the custody of the relevant county registrar. This is to protect the evidentiary value of those ballots for the future investigations or audits. As we know if the chain of custody is broken there no guarantee that those ballots have not been tampered with or altered In response this bill 73 made it a felony to remove voted ballots from the custody of a county registrar However, in April of this year, a group of press organizations, including CalMatters, specifically petitioned a court to unseal the warrant that was obtained by Sheriff Bianco. they found that in addition to voted ballots, those warrants authorized the seizure of other election records from Riverside County Registrar of Voters. Unfortunately, those additional records would not be covered by the protections provided under Senate Bill 73, which is why we have 1418 today, which would extend the protections to other forms of election records beyond voted ballots, including voting systems. The same concerns over chain of custody extend to these records as well. The chain of custody must be maintained to protect their evidentiary value for future investigations or audits. In extending those provisions, SB 1418 will make it a felony to remove additional forms of election records, including voting systems from the custody of a county registrar. It would also provide the Secretary of State, Attorney General, and the relevant county registrar with the same civil remedy that was provided under Senate Bill 73. We have here today our sponsors of the bill under Attorney General Rob Bonta, our Deputy Attorney General, Tiffany Brokaw.

Tiffany Brokaw, Deputy Attorney General in the Office of Legislative Affairs. Here on behalf of the sponsor, Attorney General Rob Bonta, and he'd like to thank Senator Cervantes for carrying this important measure. SB 1418 protects sensitive election documents and equipment from being seized and removed from the physical custody of elections officials. California law currently provides protections for voted ballots by narrowly limiting their use and by requiring that elections officials always maintain physical custody over the voted ballots. However, election administration increasingly relies on a broader range of records, equipment, and certified voting technologies that may be necessary to investigate allegations of election misconduct, resolve election contests, or preserve evidence during criminal prosecution of an election crime. SB 1418 would address these concerns by expanding the scope of election-related materials that are prohibited from being removed from the custody of a local elections official. SB 1418 is an important tool to ensure the integrity of our election processes are maintained. And for these reasons, I respectfully ask for an aye vote. And I have with me Deputy Attorney General Malcolm Brutigam for any questions, and he's on our elections team.

This bill does have an urgency clause, so if signed into law by Governor Newsom, its provisions will be in place for the November gubernatorial election and beyond. Respectfully ask for an aye vote. Thank you very much.

No.

Aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Aye.