California bans billionaire ploys to buy votes

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — California Governor Gavin Newsom continued his swipes at President Donald Trump when signing two bills Thursday intended to protect election integrity.

Senate Bill 42 will put a measure on the November 2026 ballot that asks voters to repeal an existing ban on the public financing of elections in the state. Senate Bill 398 makes it illegal to offer money or other valuable consideration to incentivize someone to vote or register to vote.

“Other valuable consideration” is defined in Senate Bill 398 as the chance to win a lottery or prize-drawing contest — an offer the bills’ author said was made last year by billionaire Elon Musk and his America PAC.

“Musk and America PAC claimed legality on the basis that they weren’t technically paying someone to vote in a particular manner,” said state Senator Tom Umberg, author of both bills, in an analysis. “However, it can still be inferred that America PAC created an alluring offer that likely incentivized constituents to register to vote if they had not already done so with a designated swing state.”

According to the analysis, America PAC said it would award $1 million each day until Election Day to someone who signed its petition to support the U.S. Constitution. The prize was available to people in seven swing states.

This year, the PAC made a similar offer: $100 to Wisconsin voters to sign a petition opposing “activist judges,” Umberg said.

“California has sent a clear message: Our democracy belongs to the people,” the Santa Ana Democrat said in a statement. “With SB 398 and SB 42, we are protecting voters from manipulative schemes and empowering communities to decide how campaigns are financed in our state. These laws reaffirm California’s commitment to fair, transparent and accessible elections.”

Umberg’s second bill would give all cities and counties in California the ability to make programs for publicly financed elections.

Charter cities — which include Los Angeles, Berkeley and San Francisco — already have this power. Umberg’s bill extends it to all local jurisdictions.

The question will go before voters at the November 2026 general election.

Authors of a bill analysis said that supporters have pointed to a growing concern about money in politics. They hope that public financing of campaigns could provide a salve to those worries, as the bill would increase the power of small donors.

Opponents said the bill would require taxpayers to pay for political speech they didn’t necessarily support. Also, governments could prohibit some candidates from getting funding.

“At a time the state is dipping into rainy-day reserves to pay ongoing expenses and local governments are asking voters to approve more and more tax increases, the government should prioritize spending on core programs that help hardworking Californians — not giving tax dollars to political campaigns,” said Robert Gutierrez, president of the California Taxpayers Association, in a statement to Courthouse News. “In addition to misusing tax dollars, this legislation raises significant First Amendment concerns by forcing taxpayers to finance political speech that they may not wish to support.”

In signing the bills, Newsom took the opportunity to push back against the Trump administration.

“California is the most diverse state in the world’s most diverse democracy,” Newsom said in a statement. “Right now, our founding ideals and values are being shredded before our eyes in Washington D.C., and California will not sit idle. These new laws further protect Californians’ voices and civic participation in what makes our state and our country great.”

According to Newsom, Trump has silenced media by forcing them into settlements or pushing them off the air. He’s also deployed troops to cities across the nation, with Newsom adding they’ve arrested people without cause.

Additionally, the governor pointed to Trump’s pressure on red states to redraw their congressional districts to bolster Republican numbers in next year’s midterms. Newsom has responded to that by placing Proposition 50 on this November’s ballot. It will give Californians the choice of whether to temporarily set aside their independent redistricting commission in favor of new maps favoring Democrats.

Newsom on Thursday also signed Assembly Bill 30, an unrelated bill that will allow a new blend of gasoline to be sold in California.

That blend, called E15, will be sold while the state’s Air Resources Board continues researching whether it can meet California’s clean air requirements.

E15 has 15% ethanol and is used in other states. A study has shown it could lower gas prices by up to 20 cents a gallon.

“AB 30 is an example of how we can solve problems thoughtfully in California,” said David Alvarez, the San Diego Democrat who authored the bill. “By authorizing the sale and use of E15 gasoline, we can reduce the cost of gas and maintain our commitment to a cleaner environment.”