A Trump-friendly sheriff must return the hundreds of thousands of ballots he illegally seized in his quest to uncover voting fraud, the California Supreme Court ruled Thursday.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco got his hands on approximately 650,000 ballots cast in last November’s statewide referendum on creating new congressional districts, a move Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom pushed in order to counteract Texas’ GOP-friendly redistricting. The measure passed by over 3.3 million votes, and by a margin of about 80,000 in Riverside County, where Bianco, 58, has been sheriff since 2019.
Bianco, who endorsed Trump in 2024 and unsuccessfully ran for governor this year, claimed that his ballot seizure was necessary to “physically count the ballots and compare that result with the total votes recorded.” He added: “Investigations into irregularities must happen so that the public can have full confidence.”
But the seven-member state Supreme Court unanimously ruled that what Bianco did was “unlawful.”
“California law long has recognized that voted ballots require special care and handling to safeguard them from alteration or tampering,” the ruling states. “Consistent with this principle, the Elections Code narrowly limits the circumstances in which a court may order the production of ballots for inspection, and even in those narrow circumstances, requires that ballots remain in the physical custody of the responsible elections official. Bianco’s seizure of the ballots violated the plain language of section 15551, subdivision (d), commanding that ‘[i]n no event’ shall voted ballots ‘be taken from the custody of the elections official.’”
Bianco, the court adds, must “refrain from further handling of the ballots except as necessary to comply with our order.”
Bianco hasn’t yet reacted publicly to the ruling. The Daily Beast has contacted his attorney in the case, Bradley Hertz, for comment.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, said in a press conference that Bianco will face “legal consequences.”
In a statement, Bonta also commented on Bianco’s “defiance” over the last few months.
“After the Sheriff took the extraordinary step of obtaining warrants to seize control over voted ballots, I made a modest request to him: pause your investigation, preserve all evidence, and provide the information needed for my office to review the allegations,” he said. “Instead, Sheriff Bianco pressed forward with the seizure of hundreds of thousands of ballots. The Court has now made clear that this kind of defiance cannot stand, that the Attorney General has the authority to intervene when sheriffs take improper action, and that voted ballots belong in the custody of elections officials.”
Newsom, who last week signed legislation aiming to prevent a repeat of Bianco’s actions, also praised the decision.
“Today’s ruling affirms that in California we will defend democracy — using every branch of government,” the governor said in a statement. “And the new laws I signed just last week add new protections so attacks like this cannot happen again. People deserve to know their ballot is counted and secure, and in California we will do everything we can to protect that constitutional right — this year, and beyond.”
Bianco’s failed effort comes amid concerns that Trump, who continues to lie about the 2020 election, or his allies may try to intrude on the ballot counting and handling process in the November midterms, which look increasingly bad for Republican candidates.
