California adheres to federal law passed by Congress in the 1990s, specifically 52 USC 20504(c)(2) Section 5 of the NVRA.
Posted by Badlands Media, Checked
- Sources
- 1 contradict3 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 60%
Badlands MediaOct 21, 2026
The claim's core, that California adheres to the NVRA, is supported: the Secretary of State's manual applies 52 U.S.C. 20504(c)(2)'s confidentiality rules to DMV registrations, state code requires compliance with Section 20504, and a DOJ filing does not suggest California fails to follow federal voter-registration law.
Our two reads of who says this, and how, disagree, so it counts as the post's own claim.
What was said
… So within the election period to to which, uh, where did it go? Uh, I had response. Oh, here it is: to which Newsom's office responded, "California adheres to federal law passed by Congress in the 1990s, C-52 USC 2054 C-2 Section 5 of the NVRA. May want to brush up on your election law before tweeting, perhaps. Second Assistant is more apt from now on, question mark." And I hate to say this, but Newsom's office is technically correct in what they're saying. And, you know, let me pull this up here. …
Badlands Media · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. The California Secretary of State's NVRA manual applies 52 U.S.C. 20504(c)(2)(D)(iii) confidentiality requirements to DMV voter registration, showing the state implements this exact section.[1]
Supports. California Elections Code 2272 requires the DMV's NVRA coordinator to ensure compliance with Section 20504 of Title 52, establishing the state's legal duty to follow the federal provision.[2]
Supports. A federal court filing from October 2026 states the plaintiff does not suggest California is failing to adhere to federal voter-registration laws, and describes California enforcing federal NVRA-related requirements.[3]
Contradicts. A 2019 Secretary of State review found that DMV records were at times transmitted beyond NVRA timeframes or not at all, which cuts against unqualified adherence to the NVRA's transmittal rules in 20504(e), though not the (c)(2) provision the claim names.[4]
Context. Coverage of the Newsom press office statement repeats the same wording without independent verification, so it supplies the claim's origin rather than evidence for it.[5][6]
Sources
6 sources: 4 primary, 2 not rated
- 1Voter Registration at Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)sos.ca.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 2Code Sectionleginfo.legislature.ca.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 3[PDF] No. 26-7070 IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR ...oag.ca.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 4Review of National Voter Registration Act Compliance by the California Department of Motor Vehicles and the Secretary of State's Office - April 30, 2019elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov · primary source · cited for: contradicts
- 5Federal prosecutor spotlights California voter citizenship checks amid DOJ fightabc6onyourside.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 6Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) on Xx.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
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