May 27 (UPI) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation Wednesday aimed at protecting the state’s elections from potential interference by the Trump administration, federal officials and political allies.

Senate Bill 73 was introduced ahead of November’s midterm elections by state Democratic Sens. Tom Umberg and Sabrina Cervantes as a response to alleged threats of election interference and intimidation from the White House.

“There’s no rules anymore with the Trump administration,” Newsom said during the press conference.

Newsom, a possible Democratic presidential candidate, described the bill as an answer to growing anxiety in the state about fair and free elections. He said it clarifies election rules and processes.

“[Trump] doesn’t believe in free and fair elections. He believes in competitive authoritarianism,” Newsom said.

The bill, which the California Legislature passed a day earlier, prohibits the unauthorized access, distribution, modification or seizure of California’s voter rolls and election technology; restricts law enforcement from interfering with election administration; increases protections against illegal removal or seizure of voted ballots; and requires the state’s Department of Justice to issue guidance to county election officials.

“Election workers should never fear political intimidation for simply doing their job. Voters should never wonder whether ballots were improperly handled. And law enforcement powers should never be misused in ways that jeopardize the integrity of our democratic process,” Assemblymember Gail Pellerin said during the press conference.

“Our democracy depends not only on the right to vote but on the public’s confidence that every lawful vote will be protected and counted fairly.”

With Newsom’s signature, the bill went into effect ahead of Tuesday’s primary elections.

The authors of the bill pointed to several recent events they said necessitated the legislation, specifically Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco’s seizure of more than 650,000 ballots from November’s special election.

Bianco, who is running for California governor as a Republican, said he was investigating election fraud allegations raised by a conservative activist group. Last month, the California Supreme Court ordered him to end his probe.

The bill’s authors said the seizure threatened the chain of custody of the ballots and that law enforcement involvement in election administration can intimidate election workers and voters.

“S.B. 73 puts in protections to ensure that ballots will be secured and that voters have confidence in our election system that their voices will be heard at the ballot box,” Cervantes said.

Newsom, a vocal Trump critic who is known to feud online with the president, framed the legislation as an attempt to address a broader pattern of actions from the Trump administration, including legal attempts to gain possession of states’ voter rolls and deployment of National Guard troops.

While the state bill does not affect the federal government’s use of the military, it does restrict local law and federal law enforcement officials from interfering in California’s elections without strict legal authorization.

“There’s a pattern and that’s what this legislation begins to address — a pattern of actions; a pattern, by the way, that unfolded in primarily blue states where the Trump administration tried to access the voting rolls,” he said.

“These guys are not screwing around. They’re ruthless. So it’s in that spirit that I’m signing this sober about what we’re up against.”