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The order came after California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a
Democrat, last month asked the court to step in, arguing the
sheriff has no authority over election materials. A voting
rights group is also challenging the ballot seizure.
The dispute started earlier this year and escalated last month
when Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco seized 1,000 boxes of
election materials to investigate a complaint from a local
citizens group about the ballot count from a November 2025
special election on redistricting. Local election officials told
the county Board of Supervisors that the complaint was
unfounded. After Bonta ordered Bianco to halt his probe, the
sheriff seized another 426 boxes of ballots.
Bianco and his office “are hereby ordered to pause the
investigation into the November 2025 special election and
preserve all seized items,” the order reads.
Bonta said the Wednesday order is essential to stop the
sheriff’s probe.
“What the Sheriff says and what he does are often two different
things,” Bonta said in a statement. “Today’s decision by the
California Supreme Court reins in the destabilizing actions of a
rogue Sheriff, prohibiting him from continuing this
investigation while our litigation continues.”
Bianco’s office did not immediately respond to a request for
comment.
Bianco is also one of two prominent Republican gubernatorial
candidates in the state. He previously defended his
investigation, noting it was approved by a county judge. The
sheriff last week said he’s paused the probe because of mounting
legal challenges.
The ballot investigation came as President Donald Trump has
repeatedly disputed the results of the 2020 election, citing
unsubstantiated instances of fraud. His administration recently
seized ballots and other documents from an election office in
Georgia. Some Republicans have mirrored Trump’s rhetoric on
voting in their states.
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