California Sheriff Unlawfully Seized Over 650,000 Ballots Court Rules

Chad Bianco, Creative Commons

On Sept. 24, CBS News reported, California Supreme Court ruled Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco violated the state’s election law by ordering 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.

When the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office seized the ballots earlier this year, Bianco confiscated more than 611,000 ballots from the special election in which voters approved a redistricting measure that shifted five of California’s Republican U.S. House seats to be more favorable to Democrats in the midterm elections this year. Bianco lost his bid for California governor in the 2026 state primaries.

The ballots were confiscated and held in an undisclosed location during the case, according to Riverside City Councilmember Clarissa Cervantes, one of the local leaders who petitioned the court.

Over the weekend, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a package of bills that would prevent anyone from seizing ballots.

On Sept. 24 the governor released the following statement in response to the California Supreme Court ruling determining: “that the seizure of the ballots was unlawful.”

“Today’s ruling affirms that in California we will defend democracy — using every branch of government. 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, “ said Gov. Gavin Newsom.

This ruling (Cervantes v. Bianco 9/24/26 SC) comes as the Governor signed a 13-bill election protection package last week that builds on his extensive record defending democracy — and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the Trump administration’s attempts to weaponize the U.S. Postal Service with regards to the vote-by-mail process.