AB282 - Elections: seizure of election materials.

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 (Principal coauthor: Senator Laird) (Coauthors: Assembly Members Haney, Lee, and Quirk-Silva) January 22, 2025 An act to amend Section 12955 of the Government Code, relating to discrimination. 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, as amended, Pellerin. Discrimination: housing: source of income. 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. Existing law, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) makes unlawful various practices connected to obtaining and financing housing accommodations, among other things, if those practices discriminate based on source of income. FEHA requires the Civil Rights Department to enforce specific provisions of the act, including the provision described above. This bill would provide that the establishment by a public agency or a similar entity, as specified, of policies or preferences in favor of an applicant or tenant who qualifies for or participates in federal, state, or local housing subsidy programs, as specified, does not constitute discrimination based on source of income for purposes of the above-described provisions of FEHA. Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY 2/3 Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO 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. SECTION 1. Section 12955 of the Government Code is amended to read: 12955. It shall be unlawful: (a) For the owner of any housing accommodation to discriminate against or harass any person because of the race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, ancestry, familial status, source of income, disability, veteran or military status, or genetic information of that person. (b) For the owner of any housing accommodation to make or to cause to be made any written or oral inquiry concerning the race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, ancestry, familial status, disability, veteran or military status, or genetic information of any person seeking to purchase, rent, or lease any housing accommodation. (c) For any person to make, print, or publish, or cause to be made, printed, or published any notice, statement, or advertisement, with respect to the sale or rental of a housing accommodation that indicates any preference, limitation, or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, ancestry, familial status, source of income, disability, veteran or military status, or genetic information or an intention to make that preference, limitation, or discrimination. (d) For any person subject to the provisions of Section 51 of the Civil Code, as that section applies to housing accommodations, to discriminate against any person on the basis of sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, color, race, religion, ancestry, national origin, familial status, marital status, disability, genetic information, source of income, veteran or military status, or on any other basis prohibited by that section. Selection preferences based on age, imposed in connection with a federally approved housing program, do not constitute age discrimination in housing. (e) For any person, bank, mortgage company, or other financial institution that provides financial assistance for the purchase, refinance, organization, or construction of any housing accommodation to discriminate against any person or group of persons because of the race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, ancestry, familial status, source of income, disability, veteran or military status, or genetic information in the terms, conditions, or privileges relating to the obtaining or use of that financial assistance. (f) For any owner of housing accommodations to harass, evict, or otherwise discriminate against any person in the sale or rental of housing accommodations when the owner’s dominant purpose is retaliation against a person who has opposed practices unlawful under this section, informed law enforcement agencies of practices believed unlawful under this section, has testified or assisted in any proceeding under this part, or has aided or encouraged a person to exercise or enjoy the rights secured by this part. Nothing herein is intended to cause or permit the delay of an unlawful detainer action. (g) For any person to aid, abet, incite, compel, or coerce the doing of any of the acts or practices declared unlawful in this section, or to attempt to do so. (h) For any person, for profit, to induce any person to sell or rent any dwelling by representations regarding the entry or prospective entry into the neighborhood of a person or persons of a particular race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, ancestry, disability, genetic information, source of income, familial status, veteran or military status, or national origin. (i) (1) For any person or other organization or entity whose business involves real estate-related transactions to discriminate against any person in making available a transaction, or in the terms and conditions of a transaction, because of race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, ancestry, source of income, familial status, disability, veteran or military status, or genetic information. (2) For any person or other entity whose business includes performing appraisals, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 11302 of the Business and Professions Code, of residential real property to discriminate against any person in making available those services, or in the performance of those services, because of race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, familial status, source of income, disability, genetic information, veteran or military status, or national origin. (j) To deny a person access to, or membership or participation in, a multiple listing service, real estate brokerage organization, or other service because of race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, ancestry, disability, genetic information, familial status, source of income, veteran or military status, or national origin. (k) To otherwise make unavailable or deny a dwelling based on discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, familial status, source of income, disability, genetic information, veteran or military status, or national origin. (l) To discriminate through public or private land use practices, decisions, and authorizations because of race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, familial status, marital status, disability, genetic information, national origin, source of income, veteran or military status, or ancestry. Discrimination includes, but is not limited to, restrictive covenants, zoning laws, denials of use permits, and other actions authorized under the Planning and Zoning Law (Title 7 (commencing with Section 65000)), that make housing opportunities unavailable. Discrimination under this subdivision also includes the existence of a restrictive covenant, regardless of whether accompanied by a statement that the restrictive covenant is repealed or void. (m) As used in this section, “race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]