California Supreme Court orders Riverside County sheriff to return
650,000 seized ballots
[September 25, 2026]
By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A Republican California sheriff must return more
than a half-million ballots he seized for an investigation into
unfounded voting improprieties in a special election last year, the
state Supreme Court ruled Thursday.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco in February seized approximately
650,000 ballots from a November 2025 special election on statewide
congressional redistricting favorable to Democrats and pushed by Gov.
Gavin Newsom. The measure easily passed statewide, and won in Bianco's
county by roughly 80,000 votes.
The court called the ballots’ seizure “unlawful,” saying California law
requires ballots to remain in the custody and control of election
officials, even during a criminal investigation.
Bianco said in an email message to his supporters that he will comply
with the court’s order.
“We are very disappointed and wholeheartedly disagree with the court’s
ruling,” Bianco said in a statement shared later Thursday with The
Associated Press.
Election officials watched the case with an eye to the November
midterms
Bianco’s ballot investigation came as President Donald Trump repeatedly
disputed the results of the 2020 election, citing unsubstantiated
instances of fraud. Trump’s administration in January seized ballots and
other documents from an election office in Georgia. Some Republicans
have mirrored Trump’s rhetoric on voting in their states.
Election officials and civil rights groups have been following the
Bianco case carefully as they brace for the possibility that Trump or
his allies may try to seize ballots in November.
Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta immediately launched a legal
challenge after the seizure, arguing the sheriff had no authority over
election materials and warning his action was designed to sow distrust
in elections. He ordered Bianco to return the ballots, but Bianco did
not.
“The Court has now made clear that this kind of defiance cannot stand,
that the Attorney General has the authority to intervene when sheriffs
take improper action, and that voted ballots belong in the custody of
elections officials,” Bonta said Thursday.
Sheriff seized the ballots after receiving a complaint about the vote
count
Bianco said he confiscated the election materials after receiving a
complaint from a local citizens group that the count was off. The group
said it found a gap between the number of ballots cast and the number of
ballots received in the election for the measure, sparked by a
nationwide redistricting fight.
The group said it found a roughly 45,000-vote gap between the number of
ballots cast and the number of ballots received by Riverside County in
the special election for Proposition 50, the measure that redrew
California’s congressional districts to favor Democrats.
Riverside County Registrar of Voters Art Tinoco said the group misread
ballot data and that the actual gap was 103, well within the margin of
error set by California’s secretary of state.
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Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco arrives at the Supreme Court of
California for a hearing about his seizure and recount of more than
half a million 2025 election ballots on Aug. 24, 2026, in San
Francisco. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)
At the time, Bianco was one of two prominent Republicans running for
governor in a crowded June primary. He did not advance to the
general election and later announced plans to seek reelection as
sheriff in 2028.
The University of California, Los Angeles Voting Rights Project also
sued the sheriff and the Riverside County Registrar of Voters on
behalf of several voters. Xavier Becerra, a former state attorney
general and Democrat running for governor, was part of the UCLA
lawsuit.
The state Supreme Court heard arguments in both cases last month.
Bianco began his own recount
Bianco began recounting the vote shortly after seizing the ballots,
using sheriff’s officials under the supervision of a special master
appointed by a court. But he suspended it days later, citing
mounting legal challenges. He stopped the count after the California
Supreme Court ordered him to do so.
Attorney Bradley Hertz, representing Bianco, argued before the court
that the sheriff had a legal duty to open the investigation after
receiving the complaint and followed the penal code to carry out
that investigation, first issuing search warrants in February, but
the court disagreed.
“If election misconduct is suspected, the Elections Code provides
several mechanisms for law enforcement to review and examine ballots
without compromising their integrity,” the court wrote.
The court ruled Thursday that a search warrant does not override the
state’s electoral law.
“These are the voters’ ballots. They must be protected through the
processes the Legislature has established. This ruling provides
important clarity for election officials, law enforcement, and
voters across California,” said Chad Dunn, legal director and
co-founder of the UCLA Voting Rights Project.
On Saturday, Newsom signed a bill that would prevent anyone from
seizing ballots.
Court finds state attorney general orders are binding
The court also settled whether the state's attorney general has
authority over county sheriffs, saying the attorney general's orders
are binding. Bianco had argued that an attorney general's role is
that of an adviser.
Bianco said in an email message to his supporters that while he will
comply with the court's rulings, he “will not obey the message
behind them — that local law enforcement works for Sacramento, not
for the people who elected us.”
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