California added new protections around its elections on Saturday, with Gov. Gavin Newsom signing a slate of 13 bills he said are aimed squarely at blocking interference by President Trump and his allies. The measures move up the opening of ballot drop boxes to 30 days before an election, allow counties to expand no-electioneering zones to 200 feet around polls, and bar police from making arrests near voting sites except in cases such as violent crimes or disruptions to voting. “We have no bigger task than fighting to protect the right to vote from interference and meddling—the future of democracy is on the line,” Newsom said in a statement, the Los Angeles Times reports. “These bills today build upon the wall California has built to safeguard our electoral process.”
Newsom and Democratic lawmakers assembled the legislation without knowing exactly how the federal government might step into the state’s elections, the New York Times points out. Trump has been especially critical of mail ballots, which are a big part of California’s process. Democrats have voiced concerns that Trump might send federal agents to polling places in immigrant areas. Newsom signed the bills at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles; armed and masked Border Patrol agents, including the since-removed Greg Bovino, showed up when he held an event there last year.