A high-stakes election integrity fight in California has reached the state\u2019s highest court, with Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco refusing to surrender roughly 650,000 ballots seized during an investigation into the 2025 special election \u2014 despite Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta demanding their return.<\/p>\n
The California Supreme Court heard arguments Monday over whether Bianco acted within his legal authority when his department took possession of ballots cast in Riverside County during the November 2025 election involving Proposition 50, the state\u2019s controversial congressional redistricting measure.<\/p>\n
Bianco has remained unapologetic, insisting his department received a complaint that required investigation and that the seizure was lawful.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did this, and this was legal,\u201d Bianco told reporters.<\/p>\n
\u201cI went a different route. They are legal. Both routes are legal. It\u2019s just their side doesn\u2019t like the route I chose,\u201d Bianco added.<\/p>\n
The sheriff\u2019s legal team told reporters Monday that the ballots remain securely in Bianco\u2019s custody while the legal dispute plays out.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sheriff is holding that evidence, safeguarding it as a custodian for the court,\u201d attorney Bradley Hertz said.<\/p>\n
At the center of the dispute is Proposition 50, which California voters approved during the November 2025 special election.<\/p>\n
The measure involved congressional redistricting and officially passed statewide by more than 3.4 million votes, according to California election results.<\/p>\n
Bianco, however, has publicly raised questions about whether ballot records examined by investigators matched the results produced by voting machines.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow 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\u2019ll never know,\u201d Bianco said outside the courthouse.<\/p>\n
The sheriff\u2019s statement represents his allegation about the evidence and does not, by itself, establish that the certified statewide election result was incorrect.<\/p>\n
The California Supreme Court dispute currently centers on Bianco\u2019s authority to seize and retain the ballots.<\/p>\n
Bonta launched his legal challenge against Bianco in March, demanding that the sheriff return the election materials.<\/p>\n
The UCLA Voting Rights Project separately challenged Bianco\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n
The Democratic attorney general maintains that California law gives his office supervisory authority over local sheriffs and argues that Bianco ignored that authority by refusing to comply with the demand.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a sheriff that \u2013 despite the clear language in the California constitution, and in California government code, providing me direct supervision, authority over him \u2013 failed to comply with it,\u201d Bonta told reporters Monday.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe can read, he knows what it says, it makes his violations even more egregious,\u201d Bonta added.<\/p>\n
Bianco strongly disputes Bonta\u2019s interpretation of the law, arguing that the attorney general\u2019s supervisory authority does not give him the power to shut down a legitimate investigation.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you take it word for word, in that context, it means that he has direct authority that if I\u2019m not doing my job he can order me to do it and if I don\u2019t do it he can do it for me. But he cannot stop an investigation,\u201d Bianco charged.<\/p>\n
That disagreement has now placed two powerful California law enforcement officials on opposite sides of a consequential legal battle: Bonta says Bianco exceeded his authority, while the sheriff argues he would be abandoning his law enforcement responsibilities if he surrendered potential evidence before his investigation was complete.<\/p>\n
The fight is unfolding amid a much broader national debate over election administration and ballot security ahead of the 2026 midterms.<\/p>\n
Just Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court handed the Trump administration a significant victory by allowing revised restrictions involving mail-in voting to take effect while litigation continues.<\/p>\n
The administration has argued that stronger safeguards are necessary to reduce vulnerabilities in mail voting, while Democratic-led states challenging the measures contend they improperly interfere with state election administration.<\/p>\n
The Justice Department has also intensified scrutiny of election records elsewhere.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, federal officials demanded approximately 865,000 ballots and related records from Michigan\u2019s Wayne County, which includes Detroit, as part of an investigation into compliance with federal election law.<\/p>\n
Democratic officials there pushed back against the request.<\/p>\n
California is now facing its own showdown over who ultimately controls election materials once law enforcement claims those records have become evidence.<\/p>\n
For Bianco, the issue is straightforward: His department received a complaint, opened an investigation and obtained evidence that he says must remain protected while investigators determine what happened.<\/p>\n
For Bonta, the controversy raises a different question \u2014 whether an elected county sheriff can independently seize and retain hundreds of thousands of ballots despite objections from state authorities responsible for overseeing California elections.<\/p>\n
The California Supreme Court did not immediately rule following Monday\u2019s arguments, leaving the roughly 650,000 ballots in Bianco\u2019s possession while the justices deliberate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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