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Bill

SB 398

Election crimes: payment based on voting or voter registration.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Josh Becker and 2 co-sponsors

California SB 398 criminalizes accepting or offering payment or compensation in exchange for voting or voter registration, establishing felony and misdemeanor election crime penalties.

Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 246, Statutes of 2025.
#electioncrimes #paymentbasedonvotingorvoterregistration
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WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · SB 398

Legislative bill overview

SB 398 creates new criminal penalties in California for offering, providing, or accepting payment or other compensation in exchange for voting, voter registration, or voting-related activities. The bill establishes these actions as election crimes with specified felony and misdemeanor penalties depending on circumstances and amounts involved.

Why is this important

Vote buying and voter coercion undermine democratic integrity by allowing wealthy individuals or organizations to manipulate electoral outcomes through financial incentives. This law provides California prosecutors with explicit statutory tools to prosecute such conduct, addressing a gap where previous election fraud statutes may not have adequately covered payment-based vote manipulation schemes.

Potential points of contention

  • First Amendment concerns: Critics may argue that restricting payments connected to voting or registration infringes on political speech or association rights, particularly in contexts like voter mobilization campaigns that provide compensation to community organizers
  • Definitional ambiguity: The bill's scope regarding what constitutes impermissible "compensation" related to voting could create enforcement challenges—distinguishing between legitimate voter outreach employment and illegal vote buying may prove legally contentious
  • Disparate impact: Implementation could disproportionately affect grassroots campaigns and community organizations that rely on compensated staff for voter registration drives, while wealthier campaigns use unpaid volunteers

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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