USA · updated 59m ago · 2 min read
California Supreme Court Orders Sheriff Chad Bianco To Return 650,000 Seized Ballots
California Supreme Court ruled Riverside County Sheriff Bianco illegally seized about 650,000 ballots. Court ordered Bianco to return the ballots and halted the ballot inquiry.
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9 of 10 outlets skipped it: newsom says signed laws prevent future ballot seizures like Bianco's..
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Ballots seized, then ordered returned
The California Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco violated state election law when he seized more than 650,000 ballots to probe alleged voter fraud tied to the November 2025 special election. Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero said the election code “explicitly says parties can’t remove ballots from the custody of election officials,” and the court unanimously ordered Bianco to cease his investigation and return the ballots to county officials.
The court also ordered Bianco to “refrain from further handling of the ballots except as necessary to comply with our order,” according to CBS News. CBS News said Bianco had seized more than 611,000 ballots earlier this year, and it said the court’s decision required him to return remaining materials held in an undisclosed location during the case.
Attorney General’s binding authority
Attorney General Rob Bonta intervened and directed Bianco to pause the investigation, and the California Supreme Court held separately that Bianco had to comply with Bonta’s directives to shut down the investigation. Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero said, “A rule denying the Attorney General the ability to issue binding instructions regarding an investigation already initiated by a sheriff would be unworkable in practice,” rejecting Bianco’s argument about when Bonta’s authority applies.
Bonta said in a statement that Bianco’s investigation created a “constitutional crisis” and that the sheriff’s actions were “deceitful” and that he acted “duplicitous,” according to Bloomberg Law News. UCLA’s Voting Rights Project said in a statement that the ruling “reaffirms” that the state election code applies to everyone, “including law enforcement,” and attorney Chad Dunn said, “These are the voters’ ballots.”
Newsom signs protections
Gov. Gavin Newsom said the ruling shows California “will defend democracy,” and he said people deserve to know their ballot is counted and secure.
Newsom also said the new laws he signed “add new protections so attacks like this cannot happen again,” as the state moved to prevent ballot seizures like Bianco’s.
The California Supreme Court’s decisions also addressed the sheriff’s argument about search warrants, and the court said in a ruling that the Elections Code “narrowly limits the circumstances in which a court may order the production of ballots for inspection.”
The court’s order left Bianco required to return ballots to the Riverside County Registrar of Voters and to halt the investigation so the Attorney General’s Office could review the matter, while the UCLA Voting Rights Project and local leaders had sought the ballots’ return.