Governor Newsom announces California-backed victory after Supreme Court blocks Trump’s attack on vote-by-mail

“The ruling on mail-in ballots has been made. The uncertainty is behind us. Now, let the people vote! Voters will be able to cast their ballots without uncertainty, without hesitation, and without fear that their voices will be questioned or their ballots rejected,” said California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, Ph.D. “The ability to participate in an election is more than a procedure; it is a symbol of the very freedoms that make our democracy the bedrock of America and an example for the rest of the world. Now, we can finally move forward and get back to what we do best: conducting our elections without a dark cloud hanging over us —fairly, openly, for the people, by the people. No questions asked.”

“After losing in the district and appellate courts, the Trump Administration has now lost at the U.S. Supreme Court. Today’s decision is a victory for our democracy and a powerful affirmation of the rule of law,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “The stakes in this litigation could not have been higher. Voting is the fundamental right from which all other rights flow, and all 50 states allow ballots to be cast by mail in some form. In California and several other states, mail voting is the primary way elections are conducted. Had this rule been allowed to take effect, the consequences would have been catastrophic. We will remain vigilant in safeguarding our elections, and we urge every eligible voter to make their voice heard.”

This ruling comes on the heels of a recent whistleblower report warning of “potentially catastrophic problems” and characterizing the Trump Administration’s efforts as “sloppy and rushed.” In a recent court filing, USPS admitted that the technology to implement the rule is not even available. And, election officials across the nation, including chief election officials from Republican-led states, argued that the USPS rule cannot be responsibly implemented for the November midterm elections.

A record of defending democracy

Today’s ruling and related legal action builds on Governor Newsom’s long legacy of defending democracy:

Earlier this summer, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 73 (Cervantes and Umberg), which prohibits any person from providing unauthorized access, disruption, modification, or seizure of voter rolls, voter lists, or certified voting technology to law enforcement agents — including federal agents — absent a court order or investigation into specific violations of California election law; restricts peace officers from interfering with election administration or disrupting election workers carrying out their duties, except in urgent public safety emergencies; requires the California Department of Justice to issue guidance to county election officials on how to respond to requests from law enforcement seeking access to areas where ballots are cast, processed, or handled; and increases protections against illegal removal or seizure of voted ballots and establishes criminal penalties for knowingly taking ballots from election officials. The legislation also makes it a crime — punishable by a $1,000 fine, imprisonment for up to three years, or by both — for a person to knowingly take a package containing voted ballots from the custody of elections officials.

Last year, Governor Newsom signed:

SB 3 (Cervantes) — requires that public vote counts are updated more regularly and made changes to the signature curing process for vote by mail ballots.
SB 42 (Umberg) — puts on the November 2026 ballot a measure to repeal the ban on public financing of elections in California, extending to all cities and counties the ability to create programs for publicly financed elections, helping level the playing field for candidates and reducing the ability of millionaires and billionaires to essentially buy elections.
SB 398 (Umberg) — criminalizes offering payments and other valuable items to incentivize voting or voter registration. The bill defines “other valuable consideration” to include a chance to win a lottery or prize-drawing contest. The crime would be punishable by imprisonment, a fine of up to $10,000, or both fine and imprisonment.
AB 5 (Berman) — requires election officials to finish counting all ballots by the 13th day following Election Day unless certain conditions are met.
AB 16 (Alanis) — extends the time before the election date that vote by mail ballots can be processed.

In 2024, Governor Newsom signed:

AB 2655 (Berman) — requires large online platforms to remove or label deceptive and digitally altered or created content related to elections during specified periods, and requires them to provide mechanisms to report such content. It also authorizes candidates, elected officials, elections officials, the Attorney General, and a district attorney or city attorney to seek injunctive relief against a large online platform for noncompliance with the act.

AB 2839 (Pellerin) — expands the timeframe in which a committee or other entity is prohibited from knowingly distributing an advertisement or other election material containing deceptive AI-generated or manipulated content. The bill also expands the scope of existing law to prohibit materially deceptive content of elected officials, candidates, elections officials and others, authorizing them to file a civil action to enjoin the distribution of such material.

In 2021, Governor Newsom signed 10 bills into law that safeguard elections and increasing access so more Californians can lawfully participate, in 2020 the Governor took several actions (here, here, here) to ensure Californians could participate despite the ongoing global pandemic, and in 2019 Governor Newsom signed more than 17 bills into law to defend democracy — including some of the nation’s first that address deepfakes.

New investments to increase awareness and speed up elections

In his final budget, the Governor and Legislature included several key investments in the state’s election system:

$29 million for increased staffing, technology and equipment upgrades and purchases for counties to speed up counting and increase capacity.
$5 million for voter outreach and education at the county level to help Californians know resources and tools available in their community.
$5 million for voter outreach and education at the statewide level via the office of Secretary of State.
$750,000 to support statewide efforts to combat mis- and disinformation and ensure the state is prepared to guard against federal interference.

Trump’s history of attacking American democracy

Trump and his allies have spent years attacking the foundations of American democracy and undermining confidence in free and fair elections. After losing the 2020 election, Trump pressured state officials to overturn certified results — including infamously demanding Georgia’s Secretary of State “find” enough votes to reverse the outcome — while simultaneously promoting false claims of widespread voter fraud that were rejected by courts, election officials on both sides of the aisle, and even members of his own administration. He backed the fake electors scheme in multiple battleground states, pressured former Vice President Mike Pence to block certification of the Electoral College vote despite lacking any constitutional authority to do so, and later granted sweeping clemency to individuals connected to the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol that sought to stop the peaceful transfer of power.

Trump and his allies have also fueled voter intimidation efforts through repeated false claims about noncitizen voting, pushed aggressive voter roll purges, deployed armed federal personnel near election sites, and sought access to voting systems, ballots, voter data, and election equipment — including the seizure of ballots in Fulton County.

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