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Intentional Spread Of Misinformation About Voting-By-Mail Made Illegal In California

As a record number of voters in California prepare to cast vote-by-mail ballots in the upcoming election, the state of California has passed a bill making the intentional spread of misinformation about mail-in voting a violation of the law.

Senate Bill 739, which was first introduced to legislative authorities in February of 2019 and whose lead author is California Senator Henry Stern, D-Canoga Park, makes it a misdemeanor to intentionally mislead voters about their right to vote by mail, according to a statement from Stern’s representatives.

The bill was signed by Governor Gavin Newsom on Sept. 18, and is set to take effect immediately.

“If you’re putting out tweets, Facebook posts or using social and other types of media to
intentionally mislead voters about their right and ability to vote by mail, that’s now a crime and
it’s my hope local DAs and the state Attorney General will go after violators the moment they
see them,” said Stern in a statement. “In the midst of this worldwide pandemic, it is imperative that voters, especially those who are getting a vote-by-mail ballot for the first time, know their rights and are getting accurate, reliable information.”

The new bill adds to an existing law that makes it a misdemeanor to spread information that intentionally misleads voters about the location of their polling place and the qualifications one must meet in order to become a registered voter.

“This new law will go after people who use social media and other avenues to confuse, mislead, and lie to California voters,” said Stern. “Democracy is too fragile to allow reckless disinformation campaigns to compromise the right of anyone to cast his or her ballot.”

Nearly 60 percent of California voters are registered as permanent vote-by-mail (PVBM) voters, and are therefore sent a vote-by-mail ballot preceding each election, according to the Secretary of State.

“The spread of misinformation and disinformation are enormous threats to our elections. Voting
by mail is a critical component of our plans to keep our elections accessible, secure, and
safe during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Secretary of State Alex Padilla. “We need
to discourage and combat election disinformation that could disenfranchise citizens. Our
democracy depends on it.”

California law allows any voter to request a vote-by-mail ballot before any election. However, this year, non-PVBM voters will also be sent vote-by-mail ballots due to Assembly Bill 860, which was passed into law earlier this year, according to Stern representatives.

The bill passed the California Senate and State Assembly in August.

“Every single day, there are people in this country doing everything they can to cast doubt on
and undermine the ability of people to vote and to vote by mail,” added Stern. “I am tired of
seeing social media be weaponized in an attempt to undermine our democracy.”


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Intentional Spread Of Misinformation About Voting-By-Mail Made Illegal In California

4 comments

  1. This bill has 1st Amendment violation written all over it.

  2. Well said Chris K! It does have 1st Amendment violation written all over it!
    What if there is election fraud going on with the mail in ballots? Are we not allowed to speak up? The government is going too far with this one.

  3. Twitter, Facebook, etc., can censor. The government cannot. First, Fourth Amendments do not restrict corporate behavior. As social media thrives on BS, I doubt the companies will be much help.

    Voters who can’t tell official websites from the monkey chatter betray failed primary schooling. One reason for public education is to make citizens better voters.

  4. The paranoia about supposed voter fraud started with Trump, and the less educated in our population have just run with it.

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About Zena Taher

Zena Taher moved to Santa Clarita when she was 12 years old. She has always been a voracious reader, which led her to take an interest in writing professionally. She graduated College of the Canyons in 2021 with a double major in journalism and communications and is currently attending California State University Northridge.