California’s highest court has ruled that a Riverside County sheriff unlawfully seized more than 650,000 ballots during an investigation into alleged voter fraud.
The California Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Sheriff Chad Bianco violated state election law when his department took custody of ballots from the Riverside County registrar. The court ordered Bianco to return the ballots and other remaining election materials and barred his office from further handling them.
Bianco had said the seizure was part of an investigation into alleged irregularities surrounding California’s November 2025 special election on Proposition 50, a redistricting measure. His office obtained search warrants and removed the ballots from the custody of election officials earlier this year.
The court rejected the argument that the sheriff’s criminal investigation gave him authority to take physical possession of the ballots. Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero wrote that California law requires voted ballots to remain in the custody of the responsible elections official, including when they are sought as part of an investigation.
In a separate but related ruling, the justices also upheld Attorney General Rob Bonta’s authority to direct Bianco to halt the investigation. The court found that Bianco had violated state law by disregarding those instructions.
The ruling comes weeks before the November 2026 midterm elections and has drawn attention from election officials and voting-rights organizations concerned about the role of law enforcement in election administration. CNN reported that the case has prompted officials to consider how similar attempts to obtain ballots could be handled during the upcoming election.
The California decision also comes after other disputes over law-enforcement access to election materials, including the federal seizure of election records in Georgia. Those cases involve different jurisdictions and legal circumstances, but have contributed to broader debate over who has authority to investigate elections and how ballots are protected while in official custody.
California has separately enacted new election-security measures. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation in September making it a felony to seize or order the seizure of ballots, election records or voting machines, while another measure requires election officials to notify state authorities about warrants or investigations involving election records or voting equipment.
The California Supreme Court’s ruling establishes that, under the state’s existing election law, law enforcement cannot remove voted ballots from the custody of election officials simply because the ballots are relevant to a criminal investigation.
Sources: California Supreme Court, CNN, CalMatters, MS NOW and Los Angeles Times.