The California Supreme Court heard arguments Monday on whether Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco acted legally when he seized approximately 650,000 ballots from a November 2025 special election. The case centers on Sheriff Bianco's March seizure of 1,000 boxes of election materials in response to a complaint from a citizens group alleging the vote count was inaccurate, though the alleged discrepancy would not have changed the election's outcome.
Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta initiated a legal challenge, asserting that election materials fall outside a sheriff's authority and that the seizure was intended to undermine public confidence in elections. Bonta ordered Bianco to return the ballots, but the sheriff did not comply. The University of California, Los Angeles Voting Rights Project also filed a lawsuit against Bianco on behalf of Riverside County voters. The state Supreme Court heard arguments in both legal actions.
During the hearing, Chad Dunn, legal director for the UCLA Voting Rights Project, argued that established procedures exist for contesting election results, and Bianco failed to follow them. Dunn noted that citizens had mechanisms, such as triggering a recount within five days of the canvass or petitioning state officials, which they did not utilize.
Bianco's legal representation, Bradley Hertz, contended that the sheriff had a legal obligation to investigate the complaint and followed penal code procedures by issuing search warrants in February. Hertz stated the ballots were being held as "evidence" and that Bianco did not return them because a legal dispute was already underway. Bianco, who was running for governor at the time of the seizure, said he would take the same action if faced with a similar complaint, asserting his actions were legal.
The ballot investigation occurred amidst a period where former President Donald Trump repeatedly questioned the results of the 2020 election, citing unsubstantiated claims of fraud. Some Republican politicians have echoed similar rhetoric regarding voting processes in their respective states.
Xavier Becerra, who is running for governor and is involved in the UCLA lawsuit, expressed hope that the Supreme Court would issue a decision to safeguard voting rights and ballots, thereby reinforcing voter confidence in the electoral process.