Governor Gavin Newsom blasted the Operation Protect The Vote effort as an attempt to interfere with California’s voting process.
Posted by Ask Dr. Drew, Checked
- Sources
- 4 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 50%
Ask Dr. DrewOct 21, 2026
… And Michael Gates, who is running for Attorney General of California, speaks on election security in the Golden State – and how federal agents busted a California voter fraud network earlier this week in “Operation Protect The Vote.” The NY Post reports that “Gov. Gavin Newsom blasted the effort as an attempt to interfere with California’s voting process.” Eric Bolling is a two-time NYT bestselling author, and is launching “Sunday With Eric Bolling” as a new weekly political show taking viewers behind the scenes of Washington’s power players and the DC machine. …
None of the sources contains the quoted NY Post sentence or shows Newsom describing Operation Protect the Vote itself as interference. Newsom's documented statements do attack federal election actions as attempts to interfere with California's elections, which is consistent with the claim but does not confirm it.
This claim is in the show notes, the publisher's own words. It counts against the post, once.
What we found
Supports. Newsom's October 30 statement accuses the Trump administration of attempting to 'interfere with states' rights to administer elections' and 'meddle in the California election process', which matches the characterization in the claim.[2]
Supports. Newsom's warning that 'a federal badge is not a license to intimidate voters or interfere with an election' and his description of federal efforts as meddling show a consistent pattern of describing federal election actions as interference.[4][5][6]
Context. The AP report confirms the Justice Department's Operation Protect the Vote charged 28 people in California, and the federal government blamed state officials for the alleged crimes.[1]
Context. No source directly quotes Newsom characterizing Operation Protect the Vote as an attempt to interfere with California's voting process, so the specific attribution rests on the NY Post report, which is not among the sources.[1][2][3][4]
Sources
6 sources: 1 fact-checker, 2 primary, 1 tier 1, 2 not rated
- 1Justice Department charges more than 2 dozen in California sweep targeting alleged noncitizen votersapnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 2Federal Court slaps down Trump Administration attack on California democracy for third time this week | Governor of Californiagov.ca.gov · primary source · cited for: supports, context
- 3Attorney General Bonta Scores Early Legal Victory Against Trump Administration’s Attempt to Interfere in California Electionsoag.ca.gov · primary source · cited for: context
- 4Newsom warns Trump as California deploys election ...thehill.com · tier 1 · cited for: supports, context
- 5Newsom warns Trump about interfering in state's election ahead of midtermsindependent.ie · not rated · cited for: supports
- 6California Braces for Trump Administration Election Interferencenews.bgov.com · not rated · cited for: supports
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- Gavin Newsom, the California Attorney General, and the California Secretary of State have obstructed efforts to clean up voter rolls.Can’t tell
- Federal agents busted a California voter fraud network earlier this week in Operation Protect The Vote.True
- The federal government is conducting enforcement actions related to voter fraud in California.True
- The Justice Department charged 28 lawful permanent residents in California with illegal voting, fraudulent registrations, and false statements as part of Operation Protect the Vote.True
- California Governor Gavin Newsom announced an investigation into a probe of him and his wife four months ago.True