California Supreme Court orders sheriff to return 650,000 seized ballots

The California Supreme Court ruled unanimously on September 24, 2026, that Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco's seizure of 650,000 Proposition 50 ballots was unlawful. The court ordered the Republican sheriff to immediately return the materials to election officials, rejecting his claims of voter fraud. The decision reinforces state ballot custody laws and affirms Attorney General Rob Bonta's authority over local sheriffs, coming just days after Governor Gavin Newsom signed new protective voting legislation.

California Supreme Court ruling on the ballot seizure

• ▪The California Supreme Court ruled unanimously on September 24, 2026, in Cervantes v. Bianco and Bonta v. Bianco, that Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco's seizure of approximately 650,000 ballots was unlawful
• ▪The California Supreme Court ordered Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco to immediately return the 650,000 Proposition 50 ballots he seized to county election officials and refrain from further handling them

Legal principles affirmed by the court

• ▪The California Supreme Court affirmed that California Attorney General Rob Bonta has the legal authority to supervise county sheriffs and intervene when they take improper actions
• ▪The California Supreme Court ruled that the state's Elections Code requires voted ballots to remain in the physical custody of election officials, even during a criminal investigation

Sheriff's seizure of the ballots

• ▪Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco deployed armed deputies from the Special Investigations Bureau, Emergency Response Team, and SWAT unit to seize the 650,000 Proposition 50 ballots and briefly began a hand recount
• ▪Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco seized approximately 650,000 ballots in February 2026, claiming he was investigating a potential discrepancy of about 45,800 votes raised by a local citizens group

Legal challenges to the seizure

• ▪The University of California, Los Angeles Voting Rights Project filed a lawsuit against Sheriff Chad Bianco and the Riverside County Registrar of Voters on behalf of several Riverside County voters
• ▪California Attorney General Rob Bonta and the UCLA Voting Rights Project filed lawsuits to halt Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco's ballot investigation, leading to a temporary court-ordered pause in April 2026

Political context and election fraud rhetoric

• ▪Election officials and civil rights groups monitored the California lawsuit against Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco closely due to concerns that Donald Trump or his allies might attempt to seize ballots during the November 2026 elections
• ▪Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco has publicly aligned with Donald Trump's election fraud rhetoric, claiming on a podcast in October 2025 that mail-in ballots are designed for fraud

Debatable claims

• ▪Unverified citizen complaints are sufficient to justify criminal investigations into election results
• ▪State attorneys general have the authority to override county sheriffs' investigations
• ▪State election codes take precedence over criminal procedure laws during ballot disputes
• ▪California should strip local sheriffs of any role in election oversight