California attorney general holds press conference on mail-in ballot safety

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (NBC, KYMA) - California Attorney General Rob Bonta held a press conference in Sacramento Monday to reassure voters they can safely vote by mail.

This comes after California led a multi-state coalition to a victory at the U.S. Supreme Court defending mail-in ballots.

Per state law, county election officials have to start sending out mail-in ballots by Monday for the November 3 midterm election.

Attorney General Bonta also outlined the legal protections and enforcement measures taken by the state of California to safeguard the electoral process against federal interference.

"We will not tolerate efforts to intimidate voters or interfere with the electoral process, and if anyone crosses that line, my office will act as we have in the past," Bonta shared. "During the last two elections, when the federal government deployed election monitors, we responded by sending our own election observers to ensure that voters felt safe, that the law was followed, and that no one was discouraged from casting a ballot. We're ready to do that again, if necessary."

During the press conference, Bonta commented on President Donald Trump's political ads, saying the administration is using Americans' federal tax dollars "to run political ads, and that's wrong, and it's unlawful, and he shouldn't be doing it, and he's clearly doing it right now in the voting window, on on major networks during major sporting events, and if they were campaign ads where they use campaign funding to advance a political message, then that's a different story."

Bonta also said the state of California considered the possibility of ICE or federal troops being at or near polling places.

"There is a clear federal prohibition. It's not a state law. It's not California's position. It's the federal government's own position about who's allowed to be at voting stations and polling stations and armed people, including ICE, National Guard, the military, are not allowed," Bonta said.