AB282 - Elections: seizure of election materials.

Enrolled September 03, 2026 Passed IN Senate August 28, 2026 Passed IN Assembly August 30, 2026 Amended IN Senate August 21, 2026 Amended IN Senate July 17, 2025 Amended IN Assembly April 10, 2025 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION Assembly Bill No. 282 Introduced by Assembly Member Pellerin January 22, 2025 An act to add Section 18579 to the Elections Code, relating to elections, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 282, Pellerin. Elections: seizure of election materials. Under existing law, a county elections official is required to prepare a certified statement of the results of an election and submit it to the county board of supervisors within 30 days of the election. This bill would make it a felony, punishable by imprisonment for 16 months or 2 or 3 years, to seize or cause or assist in the seizure of ballots, election records, or certified voting technology before election results are certified by the elections official. The bill would also make it a felony punishable by imprisonment for 2, 3, or 4 years for any person with authority to direct another person subject to their supervision or authority to seize ballots, election records, or certified voting technology before election results are certified. By creating new crimes, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute. Digest Key Vote: 2/3 Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YES Bill Text The people of the State of California do enact as follows: SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) Voting is a fundamental right and the cornerstone of our democracy. Voting is an essential and a foundational form of American civic engagement that ensures that the people have a voice in the policies that govern their lives and that their government is accountable to them. (b) Given the sanctity of the franchise, California’s policy is to make it as easy for every eligible voter to exercise their franchise as possible and to ensure that every valid ballot is counted, while establishing appropriate safeguards to uphold the integrity of our elections. (c) California law establishes strict chain of custody and preservation requirements for ballots and ballot materials, ensuring that the process for counting votes is carefully documented and all ballots and ballot materials are preserved for a prescribed period of time. In fact, California law expressly contemplates procedures for the appropriate handling and preservation of ballots and ballot materials, subject to court supervision, in the event of a criminal investigation in which those materials are relevant. (d) Improper handling of ballots by unauthorized individuals or seizure of ballots from the custody of elections officials prior to the certification of the vote risks undermining the integrity of an election and potentially preventing lawfully cast ballots from being counted. (e) California has a strong sovereign interest in maintaining the integrity of ballots and ballot materials, particularly during the period prior to certification of election results, to ensure all lawfully cast ballots are counted and the integrity of its elections is maintained. (f) The threats from the current federal Administration to interfere in state-administered elections raise nonspeculative concerns. (g) There exists the potential motivation for the federal Administration or others aligned with the Administration to interfere in California’s ability to count every lawfully cast ballot and timely certify results. (h) In light of California’s strict chain of custody, documentation, and retention laws related to ballots and ballot materials, which ensures any evidence of alleged wrongdoing tied to the ballots or ballot materials themselves is preserved and appropriately supervised by a court, there is no legitimate law enforcement reason to seek to seize ballots, ballot materials, and equipment needed to process and tabulate ballots except to interfere in the lawful completion of counting lawfully cast ballots and certifying the results of the election. (i) California therefore has a compelling need to exercise its sovereign authority and police powers to further strengthen state criminal laws to deter actions that would interfere with the processing and tabulation of ballots, and hold accountable any individuals who attempt to interfere in the counting and certification of results of the November 2026 election or future elections by seizing ballots before the results are certified pursuant to state law. SEC. 2. Section 18579 is added to the Elections Code, immediately following Section 18578, to read: 18579. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, any person who seizes or causes or assists in the seizure of ballots, election records, or certified voting technology or any portion thereof, before election results are certified pursuant to Section 15372, is guilty of a felony, punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code for 16 months or 2 or 3 years. (b) Any person with authority who directs one or more other persons subject to their supervision or authority to engage in the conduct prohibited by subdivision (a) shall be guilty of a felony, punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code for two, three, or four years. (c) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply: (1) “Seize” and “seizure” mean the removal from the custody and control of authorized elections officials, as specified in subdivision (d) of Section 15551, except as provided by Sections 15553 and 19230. (2) “Certified voting technology” has the same meaning as defined in Section 17600. (3) “Election record” means any document or record that is or will be subject to the preservation requirements in Section 17300 to Section 17306, inclusive. SEC. 3. If any provision of this act, or the application of any such provision to any person or circumstances, shall be held invalid, the remainder of this act to the extent it can be given effect, or the application of such provision to persons or circumstances other than those as to which it is held invalid, shall not be affected thereby, and to this end the provisions of this act are severable. SEC. 4. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution. SEC. 5. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are: In order for the important election security protections in this act to apply to the statewide general election occurring on November 3, 2026, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.