California sheriff ordered to return ballots he confiscated in voter ‘fraud’ inquiry

State supreme court rules Chad Bianco’s conduct unlawful and says he ‘must refrain from further handling’ of ballots

A Republican California sheriff must return more than a half-million ballots he seized for an investigation into unfounded voting improprieties in a special election last year, the state supreme court ruled Thursday.

Riverside county sheriff Chad Bianco in February seized approximately 650,000 ballots from a November 2025 special election on statewide congressional redistricting favorable to Democrats and pushed by Governor Gavin Newsom. The measure easily passed statewide, and won in Bianco’s county by roughly 80,000 votes.