The increasingly polarized political environment has taken a toll on election workers and other public servants. The California Legislature has noticed, recognizing in its most recent election legislation that 15 percent of the state’s election officials have retired since the 2020 election. In an ongoing effort to address this issue, Governor Newsom signed SB 1131 into law on September 26, 2022, establishing new protections for public officials from harassment, threats, and acts of violence. As an urgency statute, SB 1311 went into effect that same day.