California Supreme Court hears arguments over sheriff’s seizure of ballots
Summary
The California Supreme Court is deciding if Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco must return 650,000 election ballots he seized in 2026 from a 2025 special election. The sheriff took the ballots to investigate a complaint, but election officials said the complaint was unfounded. Legal challenges say Bianco had no right to seize the ballots and should return them.Key Facts
- Sheriff Chad Bianco seized about 650,000 ballots from a 2025 Riverside County special election on redistricting.
- The election measure passed by about 80,000 votes.
- Bianco took 1,000 boxes of election materials to investigate a complaint from a local citizens group.
- Local election officials said the complaint was baseless.
- Attorney General Rob Bonta challenged the seizure and ordered the ballots returned.
- Bianco, running for governor at the time, did not return the ballots.
- UCLA Voting Rights Project sued the sheriff on behalf of county voters.
- The court heard that Bianco did not follow usual legal processes for election disputes.
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