Prosecutor urges standards for candidate statements in official voter guide; committee advances AB 1853

Chair Pellerin introduced AB 1853, saying it was prompted by a June 2026 candidate statement in the official state voter information guide that contained no information about the candidate's qualifications and instead included hateful, antisemitic rhetoric and links to inappropriate content.

Dan Filsott, appearing "on behalf of the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office," testified in support and warned that including extremist statements in an official government publication gives them undeserved credibility and can spur violence. "The inclusion of such content in an official voter government publication relied upon by millions of Californians to make informed voting decisions undermines voter trust and the integrity of our electoral process," Filsott said.

Assemblymember Berman expressed support and said the state mailing reaches millions of households; the committee advanced the bill with a recommendation that Senate amendments be concurred in and the clerk recorded the disposition as out of committee 5-0 (some members not voting).

Why it matters: supporters said the change would give elections officials needed authority to prevent exploitative or violent rhetoric from being distributed with the state's imprimatur, while the bill language seeks to respect constitutional protections for speech.