SACRAMENTO, California (Press Release) – Jewish California (formerly JPAC), the nation’s largest statewide coalition of Jewish organizations, celebrated the introduction of Assembly Bill 1853, authored by Assemblymembers Gail Pellerin (D-Santa Cruz) and Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park).
This legislation would establish enforceable standards ensuring that California’s official state publications are never again used to promote hate speech or targeted attacks against any community.
AB 1853 comes in direct response to antisemitic conspiracy theories and links to racist, homophobic, and white nationalist websites that appeared in the Official Voter Information Guide for the June 2026 California Primary – a document distributed under the seal of the State of California to 23 million registered voters.
Jewish California has worked closely with the authors and the California Legislative Jewish Caucus on this legislation since the incident occurred and traveled to Sacramento to meet with Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Assemblymember Pellerin to discuss a legislative path forward.
“The antisemitic and white nationalist content that appeared in California’s Official Voter Information Guide was not just an offense to the Jewish community – it was an offense to every Californian who expects their state to uphold the basic standards of our democracy,”said David Bocarsly, CEO of Jewish California.
“Its inclusion in a state-sanctioned document is dangerous. AB 1853 is a direct response to that failure, and we are proud to have worked toward it alongside Assemblymembers Pellerin and Berman and the Jewish Caucus. We urge the Legislature to pass it without delay.”
Assembly Bill 1853 establishes clear standards requiring that candidate statements in official state and county voter guides remain factual, relevant, and appropriate for an official state publication while respecting constitutional free speech protections. The bill limits candidate statements to information about a candidate’s own education, professional experience, public service, community involvement, and qualifications for office. It bars attacks on individuals or groups, links to external content, false or misleading claims, and hateful or discriminatory content. It also authorizes the Secretary of State and county elections officials to reject noncompliant content and allows any registered voter to seek judicial enforcement of these standards.
“Hate speech has no place in California’s official voter materials,” said Assemblymember Gail Pellerin (D-Santa Cruz). “As disinformation spreads, we must ensure state publications inform voters – not amplify antisemitic or xenophobic rhetoric. As a former county clerk, I’m proud to author legislation that gives elections officials clear authority to prevent a repeat of what occurred in the June 2026 Official State Voter Information Guide.”
AB 1853 is a priority bill for the California Legislative Jewish Caucus, is co-authored by 16 members of the Legislature, and will be heard in the Senate Elections Committee in the coming weeks.
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Preceding provided by Jewish California.