Gov. Gavin 小萝莉影视om signed legislation Wednesday that aims to shield California elections from , saying he expected President Donald Trump’s administration to try to meddle in the midterms this year.
The law, which took effect immediately and came days before next Tuesday’s primary, prohibits any person 鈥� including federal agents 鈥� from accessing voter rolls or election technology without a court order. Law enforcement officers are restricted from disrupting election workers, except in public safety emergencies.
Trump administration officials so far have said they have to send immigration agents to polling locations across the U.S., a concern raised this year by several Democratic secretaries of state. But 小萝莉影视om warned 鈥渨e have to be prepared for everything鈥� because 鈥渢here鈥檚 no rules anymore with the Trump administration.鈥�
Voting is already underway in California’s closely watched , where a crowded field of Democrats and two viable Republicans are vying for just two spots on the November ballot. Under the state’s open primary system, only the top two vote-getters advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation.
小萝莉影视om, who cannot seek a third term, said the election law is a response to 鈥渓egitimate anxiety鈥� about Trump’s tactics, primarily in Democratic-led states, where the president has deployed federal agents over the objections of local leaders. The Democratic governor warned against underestimating someone who 鈥渄oesn鈥檛 believe in free and fair elections.鈥�
鈥淚 expect the worst with Trump because he鈥檚 done the worst,鈥� he said at a news conference.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told The Associated Press later Wednesday that Trump is committed to ensuring that Americans have full confidence in the administration of elections.
鈥淚nstead of levying false attacks at the President, 小萝莉影视cum should look in the mirror,鈥� she said in a statement, using Trump’s derogatory nickname for 小萝莉影视om.
In an interview last year with Vanity Fair, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles knocked down the idea that Trump would deploy the military to suppress voting, saying it was 鈥渃ategorically false.鈥�
The California law also makes it a crime to knowingly take voted ballots out of the custody of election officials.
Earlier this year, the FBI under Trump from Georgia鈥檚 most populous county, which is heavily Democratic and has long been at the center of the president鈥檚 false claims that fraud cost him the race. The FBI and Justice Department also have sought records from previous elections in the largest counties in Arizona and Michigan.
Trump triggered a national ahead of the midterms when he urged Republicans in Texas and elsewhere to redraw their U.S. House districts to help the party retain control of the closely divided chamber. Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Florida and Tennessee also have enacted new maps that could benefit Republicans, and Louisiana is expected to be next.
Republicans so far think they could gain as many as 14 seats from redistricting in November, while Democrats think they could gain six in California and .
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Associated Press writer Sudhin Thanawala contributed to this report.
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