Riverside County Investigating Claims of Vote Count Discrepancy in 2025 Special Election

New allegations about vote counting in Riverside County are drawing attention from law enforcement and county officials.

A group of residents claims that thousands more ballots were counted than were actually cast during a statewide special election in November 2025. However, county election officials say the claims are based on misinterpreted data and that the actual difference in ballots is minimal.

The allegations come from a local group calling itself the Riverside Election Integrity Team. Members say they reviewed publicly available election data and believe there is a major discrepancy between ballots cast and ballots counted during the special election that featured Proposition 50.

According to the group’s claims, more than 611,000 ballots were cast in Riverside County, but more than 657,000 ballots were counted — a difference they say amounts to tens of thousands of extra votes.

Members of the group presented their findings during a Riverside County Board of Supervisors meeting on February 10. The claims prompted the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department to open an investigation into the county’s election process. County election officials, however, say the group’s numbers are incorrect.

Riverside County Registrar of Voters Art Tinoco said official data shows the actual difference between ballots cast and ballots counted was just 103 ballots — a variance that falls well within the industry standard threshold of 2 percent.

Tinoco said the discrepancy identified by the group comes from relying on handwritten intake records completed by election workers. Those records are preliminary estimates and are not intended to represent the final number of ballots counted.

Instead, officials determine the final variance by comparing the number of verified ballots with the number counted before election results are certified.

In a statement, Riverside County Executive Officer Jeff Van Wagenen said the county remains committed to protecting the integrity of local elections.

“The Board of Supervisors and the Registrar of Voters Office are committed to safeguarding free and fair elections in Riverside County... The Registrar of Voters continues to assist law enforcement’s efforts to preserve election integrity.”

This is not the first time Riverside County’s election process has faced scrutiny. A civil grand jury report reviewing the 2020 election found no evidence of fraud and concluded that votes were counted accurately.

County leaders also note that the election process includes multiple oversight measures, and members of the public and media are allowed to observe ballot processing both in person and online.