Riverside County Sheriff and California Supreme Court Face Off Over Ballot Seizure

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco stands firm amid California Supreme Court deliberations on whether he must return around 650,000 ballots seized from a special election held in November 2025. The court recently heard arguments from both Bianco’s legal representatives and the state’s attorneys, including California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who in March initiated a legal challenge demanding the return of the ballots.

Bianco’s defense insists that he acted within legal bounds after receiving a complaint warranting investigation of the ballots. He stated, “I did this, and this was legal. I went a different route. They are legal. Both routes are legal. It’s just their side doesn’t like the route I chose.”

“The sheriff is holding that evidence, safeguarding it as a custodian for the court,” explained Bianco’s lawyer Bradley Hertz, reinforcing the argument that these seized ballots serve as vital evidence.

The ballots are linked to the November 2025 special election that focused on Proposition 50, a redistricting measure that passed by over 3.4 million votes, according to the California Secretary of State. Questions have arisen about the validity of the official count, with Bianco remarking, “How strange, that now we have evidence that the machines counted something different than the ballots that we have, and an Attorney General runs in to stop that investigation so that we’ll never know.”

Bianco’s actions faced scrutiny from Attorney General Bonta, who joined forces with the UCLA Voting Rights Project in challenging the ballot seizures. Bonta expressed that despite the explicit language in California law granting him oversight of the sheriff, Bianco failed to adhere to these regulations, stating, “He can read, he knows what it says, it makes his violations even more egregious.”

Bianco countered the Attorney General’s interpretation, arguing, “If you take it word for word, in that context, it means that he has direct authority that if I’m not doing my job he can order me to do it and if I don’t do it he can do it for me. But he cannot stop an investigation.”

Fox News Digital reached out to involved parties, including the UCLA Voting Rights Project, Riverside County Sheriff’s Office, and the California Attorney General’s Office for additional input on the unfolding situation.