California’s Supreme Court rules Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco acted unlawfully when he seized about 650,000 ballots from election officials as part of a voter-fraud inquiry. In rulings issued Thursday, the court orders Bianco to return the ballots and to refrain from further handling them, concluding that state election law does not allow ballots to be taken from election custody for criminal investigations.
The case centers on Bianco’s effort to investigate an alleged discrepancy tied to a November 2025 special election, involving a statewide congressional redistricting measure (Proposition 50). CBS News and other outlets report that the court finds Bianco violated California election law by ordering deputies to seize the ballots. The New York Times and The Hill similarly describe the decision as a requirement that the ballots be returned to election authorities.
Outlets also highlight the dispute over the investigation’s basis and process. Bianco and some coverage argue there were complaints about a vote-count mismatch, while the court rejects the use of search warrants as overriding the Elections Code. The Los Angeles Times and The Guardian emphasize that the court requires Bianco to pause or end his probe under the attorney general’s supervision. The stories differ mainly in emphasis—some focus on legal grounds and custody rules, while others note the political context and competing claims about the size and cause of the alleged vote gap.
