The California Supreme Court heard arguments regarding Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco's seizure of approximately 650,000 ballots. The court is deciding whether the sheriff must return the election materials to county officials.
The case addresses the authority of law enforcement over election materials and the potential for such actions to sow distrust in the electoral process, particularly in the context of ongoing national debates about election integrity.
The California Supreme Court is considering whether Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco must return approximately 650,000 election ballots he seized. The court heard oral arguments on Monday regarding the seizure of election materials from a November 2025 special election.
Sheriff Bianco seized 1,000 boxes of ballots in March to investigate a complaint from a citizens group alleging inaccuracies in the vote count, though the margin of victory for the measure would not have been affected. Local election officials had previously stated the complaint was unfounded.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta initiated a legal challenge, asserting that election materials fall outside the sheriff's authority and that the seizure was intended to undermine confidence in the electoral process. Bonta ordered the return of the ballots, but Bianco has not complied.
The University of California, Los Angeles Voting Rights Project, represented by Chad Dunn, also filed a lawsuit on behalf of Riverside County voters. Dunn argued to the court that established legal mechanisms exist for contesting election results, and Bianco failed to adhere to them. Bianco had begun a recount supervised by a court-appointed special master but suspended it due to legal challenges.
Bianco's legal counsel, Bradley Hertz, contended that the sheriff had a legal obligation to investigate the complaint and followed penal code by issuing search warrants. Hertz stated the ballots are being held as evidence, safeguarded for the court, and that Bianco did not comply with Bonta's order due to the ongoing legal dispute.
At the time of the seizure, Bianco was a candidate for governor. He did not advance in the primary and later announced his intention to seek reelection as sheriff in 2028. Xavier Becerra, a Democrat and former state attorney general, is involved in the UCLA lawsuit.