SB 259CALIFORNIASession 20252026

California SB 259 expands criminal penalties for interfering with mail-in ballots

Original title: Elections: vote by mail ballots.

August 30, 2026

Elections Vote by Mail Criminal Law California Legislation votebymailballots

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The Frame

What this does

The bill increases potential criminal liability for individuals and supervisors involved in the handling of mail-in ballots, creating new charges for those who direct others to obstruct the voting process.

Who is mentioned in the record

Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.

voters

The bill aims to protect the integrity of their mail-in ballot delivery and return process.

supervisors of election personnel

They face new felony liability if they direct subordinates to interfere with ballot handling.

What changed

Last recorded activity August 30, 2026.

What's next

Introduced.

Summary

This bill expands the definition of election-related crimes by making it a to interfere with the delivery of a mail-in ballot to a voter and a for supervisors to direct subordinates to interfere with ballot delivery or return. The measure takes effect immediately as an .

Key Facts

You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.

Why It Matters

Frequently Asked Questions

What constitutes 'interference' under this bill?

The bill specifies that interference includes actions related to the delivery of a ballot to a voter and the return of a ballot to local election officials.

Does this bill change how I vote by mail?

No, the bill focuses on criminal penalties for those who handle ballots, rather than changing the procedures for voters themselves.

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Discoveries

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift100% confidence

Expansion of Election Crime Scope

The bill shifts from only penalizing interference with ballot returns to also penalizing interference with ballot delivery, and introduces felony charges for supervisory direction.

SB 259

Connected Entities

otherCalifornia Constitution“Governs state reimbursement requirements for local agencies.”Map →

Sources

Open source document

openstates.org

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance75
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy60
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment20
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz40
Current news / social attention level

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