Ballots Returned to Officials
California Supreme Court Orders Sheriff to Return Seized Election Ballots
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Key Points
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The court held that the attorney general may issue binding directions to county sheriffs and district attorneys in their official law-enforcement duties to ensure state laws are enforced uniformly; county officials retain authority over their own hiring and firing.
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Bianco was running for California governor as a Republican when he seized the ballots, but he did not advance past the primary.
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The measure at issue, Proposition 50, passed with more than 64% of the statewide vote and redrew congressional districts with the stated goal of adding five Democratic House seats, countering a similar redistricting effort in Texas.
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The UCLA Voting Rights Project also brought a lawsuit on behalf of Riverside County voters, challenging the seizure alongside the state attorney general’s case.
California's Supreme Court unanimously ordered Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco to return about 650,000 ballots he had seized during a February 2025 special election, calling the confiscation unlawful The Guardian. The court also banned Bianco from handling the ballots and upheld Attorney General Rob Bonta's authority to direct the sheriff to surrender them, rejecting Bianco's claim that a search warrant justified the seizure Yahoo News.
Bianco launched the investigation after a local group alleged vote-counting errors in Proposition 50, a redistricting measure that passed statewide with over 64% support The Independent. Election officials had dismissed the fraud claims as unfounded, and voting-rights experts warned the seizure could inspire future election disruptions ahead of the 2026 midterms.
A Sheriff's Unwarranted Ballot Grab
Bianco, a Republican running for California governor at the time, began his investigation after the local group raised concerns about Proposition 50's vote totals The Guardian. He obtained what he believed was a valid search warrant and confiscated all 650,000 ballots from Riverside County election officials in February NBC Los Angeles. But California's highest court found no legal basis for the seizure under state election law.
The court's ruling struck down Bianco's core argument: that a search warrant alone gave him power over ballots in state custody Yahoo News. Justices held that the attorney general has authority to issue binding orders to county law-enforcement officials on matters of state law enforcement, though counties retain control over hiring and firing The Guardian.
Prop 50's Democratic Redistricting Victory
Proposition 50 redrew California's congressional districts with the explicit goal of adding five Democratic House seats, mirroring a Republican redistricting push in Texas The Independent. Voters approved it statewide with 64% support, making it far more popular than the alleged counting errors suggested. The claim that Bianco investigated—an overcount in the measure's tally—was rejected as baseless by election officials.
Voting-Rights Groups Alarm About Election Interference
The UCLA Voting Rights Project filed its own lawsuit alongside the state attorney general, challenging the seizure on behalf of Riverside County voters The Guardian. Advocates warned that Bianco's actions set a dangerous precedent. If sheriffs can seize ballots without legal authority, future disruptions to election administration become more likely—a threat especially serious ahead of 2026 midterms.
Governor Gavin Newsom announced new state protections to prevent similar incidents going forward The Independent. Election officials and voting-rights experts say the ruling protects ballot integrity and reaffirms that law-enforcement officials cannot unilaterally interfere with certified election materials, even if they raise unfounded fraud allegations.
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