Assembly Public Safety Committee advances SB 73 to bar military at polling places and tighten ballot custody

The California State Assembly Standing Committee on Public Safety voted to pass Senate Bill 73 as amended to the Appropriations Committee after a hearing that split supporters and law-enforcement groups.

Senator Cervantes, the bills author, told the committee the measure expands protections enacted in a prior bill and would "extend the criminal penalty ... to military personnel" who are deployed at polling places and make it a felony for anyone to remove ballots from the custody of a county registrar. He said the bill also would allow the secretary of state, the attorney general and county registrars to pursue civil remedies and would prohibit law enforcement from accessing voting machines or rosters without a court order.

"We cannot stand idle by while the MAGA movement continues to dismantle our democracy piece by piece," Senator Cervantes said, identifying recent incidents he said required new protections and asking the committee for an aye vote.

Why it matters: supporters said the bill is a targeted response to what they described as intimidation and interference around polling places and to recent seizures of ballots that broke the chain of custody. Sydney Fong, policy director at API FORCE, said SB 73 "fortifies the protections of our voters" and stressed protections for language and disability access for in-person voters. Monica Madrid of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights said immigrant communities face a real fear of enforcement at polling sites and urged an aye vote.

Opponents said the bill, even as amended, remains vague and could conflict with law-enforcement duties and federal oversight. Corey Salzillo of the California State Sheriffs' Association argued the bill could subject officers to civil and criminal penalties for conducting investigations they are statutorily required to perform and flagged a possible conflict between the Elections Code provision cited in the bill and court orders compelling seizure of evidence.

"Existing law requires the sheriff to investigate public offenses," Salzillo said, pointing to Government Code and Elections Code provisions and asking the committee for a no vote.

Colleen Britton, representing California Action for Legislative Accountability (CALA), described SB 73 as a "bill of concealment," saying it risks insulating election officials from federal audit and oversight and questioned the need for urgency.

Committee action and vote: Chair Schultz recommended an aye and the committee moved that SB 73 "pass as amended to the Appropriations Committee." The clerk recorded the vote: Schultz — aye; Alanis — not voting; Gonzales — aye; Hart — aye; Harabedian — aye; Lackey — no; Wen — aye; Ramos — aye; Sharpe Collins — aye. The chair announced the bill is out and the hearing adjourned.

Whats next: SB 73 will be considered in the Assembly Appropriations Committee; the author said the bill includes an urgency clause so, if signed by the governor in time, its provisions would be effective for the upcoming statewide primary.

Sources and scope: the article is based exclusively on testimony and statements made at the Assembly Public Safety Committee hearing on SB 73 and on roll-call results recorded by the committee clerk.