California Supreme Court Orders Return of 600,000 Ballots Seized by Riverside Sheriff
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Sep 24
California Supreme Court Orders Return of 600,000 Ballots Seized by Riverside Sheriff
3 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Sep 24
Summary
A unanimous California Supreme Court ordered Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco to return more than 600,000 ballots he seized from election officials over alleged fraud in last year’s redistricting measure vote.
The court said Bianco lacked authority to review the ballots, after a citizens group claimed the county counted 46,000 more ballots than it received — an allegation the registrar said misread public data.
County records show 657,322 ballots were counted, just 103 more than the number of recorded voters, a gap election officials said falls within typical election-administration error.
In a second unanimous ruling, the court also ordered Bianco to provide additional material to Attorney General Rob Bonta in separate litigation over the seizure.
The decision lands weeks after Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law barring pre-certification seizures of ballots or voting machines, as election officials brace for the fall midterms.