Riverside voters will see changes to how they cast mail-in ballots and new restrictions on law enforcement at polling places under legislation signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom. Senate Bill 851, which restricts law enforcement at polling places, took effect immediately upon signing, while other provisions take effect Jan. 1, 2026.
State Senator Sabrina Cervantes, who represents Riverside and chairs the Senate Committee on Elections and Constitutional Amendments, authored eight bills that became law this month. Two focus on election procedures, while others address immigrant family protections, artificial intelligence in community colleges and accessibility improvements.
The legislation gains immediate relevance as the U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday it will deploy federal election monitors to Riverside County and four other California counties for the November 4 election. The move, requested by the California Republican Party, has raised questions about whether federal monitors will be subject to SB 851's restrictions on law enforcement at polling places.
The most significant voting change affects Riverside residents who vote by mail and need to fix a signature mismatch. When a voter's signature on their mail ballot envelope doesn't match the signature on file with the county registrar, the voter must submit a "cure" form to verify their identity and have their ballot counted. Senate Bill 3 requires county registrars to accept only signature cure forms issued by the Secretary of State or county registrars themselves.
The legislation responds to confusion during the 2024 election cycle, when political parties, labor unions, and campaigns created their own signature cure forms and distributed them to voters.
"The multitude of forms being used required county registrars to make individual decisions on whether each form complied with state law and could be accepted, increasing their workload significantly," Cervantes told the Raincross Gazette. She added that the standardized approach aims to reduce voter confusion about which forms are valid.
The standardized forms will be available for download on the Secretary of State and county registrar websites. The bill also adds language to vote-by-mail ballot envelopes informing voters that their signature must match signatures on file with the registrar, including those from driver's licenses or state identification cards.
A second election measure, Senate Bill 851, extends existing California prohibitions on law enforcement at voting locations to include federal agents. Previously, state law only restricted state and local law enforcement from posting at polls.
Cervantes said the legislation responds to concerns about expanded use of federal immigration enforcement. She cited an incident in August when federal immigration agents appeared outside a Los Angeles press conference with Governor Newsom that she and other legislators attended.
The bill also clarifies that county registrars' role in certifying election results is "ministerial and non-discretionary," language Cervantes said addresses concerns raised during the 2020 presidential election, when then-President Trump pressured Vice President Mike Pence to refuse to certify electoral college results during the January 6, 2021 joint session of Congress.
Three additional bills address immigrant family protections, including removing parents' birthplaces from public birth certificates, protecting undocumented students' academic standing during immigration enforcement, and addressing adult education immigrant integration programs. Other legislation expands restrictions on artificial intelligence replacing community college staff, requires accessible pedestrian signals at state-owned crosswalks, and authorizes a November statewide special election.
Cervantes said election integrity remains a priority for her committee work. "Improving public confidence in our elections is critical and has never been more urgent," she said.
Correction- Mon. Oct. 27, 2025 8:15 a.m.
An earlier version of this story stated that all legislation takes effect Jan. 1, 2026, and that six bills address immigrant family protections. Senate Bill 851, which restricts law enforcement at polling places, took effect immediately upon signing. Three bills, not six, address immigrant family protections.
