California sheriff unlawfully seized over 650,000 ballots and must return them, state Supreme Court rules

Updated on: September 24, 2026 / 12:48 PM PDT / CBS LA

The California Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco violated the state's election law by ordering his deputies to seize more than 650,000 ballots tied to the Proposition 50 special election.

The justices ruled unanimously in two cases against Bianco, stating that he violated the law when he seized the ballots and also ignored directives from Attorney General Rob Bonta.

The court ordered Bianco to cease his investigation into election fraud claims and return the ballots to county officials. The court also said he must "refrain from further handling of the ballots except as necessary to comply with our order."

"In short, Bianco's arguments fail to persuade us that we should interpret section 15551 in a manner inconsistent with its plain text, which mandates that voted ballots remain in the custody of elections officials," the court wrote in its ruling.

CBS LA has reached out to Bianco for a statement and is waiting for a response.

When the Riverside County Sheriff's Office seized the ballots earlier this year, Bianco, who lost his bid for California governor in the primaries, seized more than 611,000 ballots from…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/moneywatch/