California Supreme Court Rules Against Chad Bianco in Ballot Seizure Cases

The California Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday against Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco in two cases stemming from his seizure of about 650,000 ballots from the Riverside County Registrar of Voters.

The first case, Cervantes v. Bianco, addressed whether Bianco's office could seize voted ballots from election officials using search warrants. The court ruled that the seizure violated California's Elections Code and ordered the ballots returned to the county registrar.

The second case, Attorney General Rob Bonta v. Bianco, addressed the Attorney General's authority to supervise and direct a county sheriff. The court sided with Bonta, including his directive that Bianco cease his investigation into the November 2025 special election.

Bianco seized the ballots earlier this year as part of an investigation into whether ballots from the November 2025 Proposition 50 special election had been improperly counted. The seizure involved roughly 1,000 boxes of election materials.

In its ruling concerning the ballots, the Supreme Court said allowing law enforcement unrestricted access to voted ballots or permitting them to handle and count ballots outside established procedures could create a substantial risk to election integrity.

The court's decision comes after months of legal disputes between Bianco and Bonta over the investigation. In April, the Supreme Court ordered Bianco to pause the investigation and preserve the materials he had seized.

The rulings do not take effect immediately. Under California Supreme Court procedures, a decision generally does not become final until 30 days after it is filed, and the court can extend that period under certain circumstances.

The exact timing for the physical return of the ballots to the Riverside County Registrar of Voters was not immediately clear.

Bianco has argued that his investigation was based on discrepancies in the county's ballot records. Court filings from his office said the registrar certified 657,322 votes in the November 2025 special election and that investigators identified discrepancies when comparing election records.

The cases are significant beyond Riverside County because they address both the handling of voted ballots during criminal investigations and the scope of the California Attorney General's authority over county sheriffs.

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