Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco stands firm as the California Supreme Court evaluates whether he must return about 650,000 ballots seized from a November 2025 special election on redistricting. The court listened to arguments from both Bianco’s lawyers and California’s legal team, led by Attorney General Rob Bonta, who initiated a challenge to Bianco’s actions in March, demanding that the ballots be returned.
Bianco remained defiant, asserting through his legal representatives that he was legally justified in investigating the ballots after receiving a complaint. “This was legal,” Bianco stated to reporters. “I took a different path. They are legal. Both choices are legal. It’s just their side disagrees with my approach.”
“The sheriff is holding that evidence, safeguarding it as a custodian for the court,” said Bianco’s lawyer, Bradley Hertz.
The ballots in question originate from the November 2025 election where state voters approved Proposition 50, a legislative redistricting measure passed by over 3.4 million votes, according to the California Secretary of State.
Bianco expressed skepticism about the accuracy of the official count, commenting on potential discrepancies between machine counts and manually-held ballots. “It seems odd that when evidence shows differences between machine tallies and our ballots, an Attorney General rushes to halt the investigation so the truth might never emerge,” said Bianco.
Attorney General Bonta, aligned with the UCLA Voting Rights Project, which filed a separate challenge, criticized Bianco’s disregard for the California constitution and other legal codes. “This is a sheriff who, despite clear guidelines granting me supervisory authority, failed to comply,” Bonta told reporters outside the court.
“He understands what the code says, making his actions even more egregious,” Bonta noted.
Bianco argued against Bonta’s legal interpretation. “If interpreted literally, it suggests he has the power to direct me if I neglect my duties, and failing that, intervene himself; however, it does not empower him to halt an investigation,” Bianco stated.
Fox News Digital reached out to the UCLA Voting Rights Project, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office, and the California Attorney General’s Office for further comments.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.