Governor signs bill outlawing multi-state double voting inspired by Santa Clara County case

The new law makes voting in California and another state in the same election a misdemeanor; the statute had been ambiguous about out-of-state instances.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a bill explicitly outlawing California residents from voting here and in another state for the same election, closing a loophole brought to light by a Santa Clara County case of people who had repeatedly voted in elections held on the same day.

Assembly Bill 1539 makes it a misdemeanor for someone whose primary residence is in California to vote in another state where they also claim residency. The new law, signed Tuesday, was authored by Assemblymember Marc Berman, D-Menlo Park, and was sponsored by the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office.

“Voting twice in the same election in two different states is a violation of the principle of one-person, one-vote,” Berman said in a statement.

The inspiration for the bill came from a 2020 report to the district attorney’s office that three South Bay residents had voted in elections held on the same day in California and in Oregon, where they also had a home. But prosecutors found themselves unable to file a charge because while state law had clear instructions for people who tried to vote twice in the same California election, it was ambiguous about instances in which someone did so in multiple states.

Ultimately, the case was referred to authorities in Oregon, which has specific laws forbidding multi-state voting. But that also set in motion efforts to amend California law, and join other states with more robust double-voting laws.

“It was important for us that if this were to happen again, we wouldn’t have to rely on another state,” said Jason Malinsky, a Santa Clara County deputy district attorney who reviewed the South Bay double-voting case.

A major exception to the law involves what are known as landowner voter districts, and any other district that does not have residency requirements to vote.

One of the most common scenarios envisioned by the new law’s architects would be people trying to use their residences in other states to vote multiple times for president or another national federal office. In the case of the South Bay residents, authorities were able to confirm that they voted in two states for the same election, but did not actually view their ballots.

Which means it’s possible that the residents voted for president on only one of their state ballots. But Malinsky said that’s beside the point, and that the new law ensures that people with the means to have homes in several states don’t have the opportunity to unfairly amplify their voting power.

“California voters and residents would be protected, and their vote would be worth as much as anybody else’s vote,” he said. “People, just based on their economic standing, wouldn’t be able to vote more.”