April 8, 2026

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered a county sheriff who seized more than half a million 2025 election ballots to pause his probe into election fraud allegations while the judges review the legal challenge against it.

The order came after California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, last month asked the court to step in. A voting rights group is also challenging the ballot seizure.

The dispute started in February and escalated last month when Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco seized 1,000 boxes of election materials to investigate a complaint from a local citizens group about the ballot count from a November 2025 special election on redistricting. Local election officials told the county Board of Supervisors last month that the complaint was unfounded. After Bonta ordered Bianco to halt his probe, the sheriff seized another 426 boxes of ballots last week.

 

California’s Supreme Court on Wednesday slammed the brakes on Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco’s sweep through more than half a million 2025 election ballots, ordering him to halt his fraud probe while judges weigh the legal fight over the seizures. The showdown, now pitting the Republican sheriff against Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta, erupted after Bianco grabbed 1,000 boxes of election materials and then, despite Bonta’s order to stop, seized 426 more last week. Local election officials already called the underlying complaint unfounded — and now the court move raises the stakes in a fight over ballot security, election credibility and the limits of sheriff power.

Leave a Reply