California Supreme Court Weighs Return of 1,400 Ballot Boxes as Justices Question Bianco's Seizure
Updated
Updated · POLITICO · Aug 25
California Supreme Court Weighs Return of 1,400 Ballot Boxes as Justices Question Bianco's Seizure
3 articles · Updated · POLITICO · Aug 25
Summary
More than 1,400 boxes of Riverside County ballots sat at the center of California Supreme Court arguments Monday over whether Sheriff Chad Bianco must return them to election officials nearly 10 months after they were counted.
Justices pressed Bianco's lawyer over the legal basis for seizing the ballots, while the case broadened into a test of Attorney General Rob Bonta's power to stop county sheriffs from pursuing election investigations.
Bianco says he acted on allegations of a major mismatch between votes cast and counted in the 2025 Proposition 50 special election and wants to preserve evidence before ballots are destroyed after the six-month retention period.
Bonta, Secretary of State Shirley Weber and a legal team including likely gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra argued the seizure rested on a flimsy pretext and risks feeding election mistrust ahead of ballots going out again in weeks.
The dispute has become a wider proxy fight over California election oversight after Newsom backed bills to curb ballot seizures and shield mail voting following new federal restrictions on mail-in ballots.
How will California's strict new ballot custody law impact future investigations by local law enforcement?
Can a county sheriff legally override state election safeguards to seize hundreds of thousands of ballots?
Will the California Supreme Court grant the Attorney General ultimate power to shut down local criminal investigations?
California’s 650,000 Ballot Seizure: Supreme Court Showdown, “Constitutional Sheriffs,” and the Fight for Election Integrity in 2026
Overview
After Riverside County voters passed a redistricting measure in November 2025, a local activist group claimed a large ballot discrepancy, which the county registrar quickly debunked. Ignoring this, Sheriff Chad Bianco—aligned with the national 'constitutional sheriff' movement—launched a criminal investigation and seized over 650,000 ballots. When California’s Attorney General ordered the ballots returned, Bianco refused, leading to lawsuits and intervention by the California Supreme Court. The unprecedented seizure prompted swift legislative action, resulting in Senate Bill 73, which established strict penalties and safeguards to prevent future law enforcement interference in elections and protect ballot security statewide.