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.
“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. 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.
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.