Riverside County Sheriff Seizes Over 650,000 Ballots for Investigation, Defying State Officials
The investigation stems from claims by the Riverside Election Integrity Team, a third-party group that reviewed polling logs and asserted there were approximately 45,000 “excess votes” — citing handwritten intake logs showing roughly 611,000 ballots cast compared to the certified machine count of about 657,000.
Tommy Flynn
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco has seized more than 650,000 ballots from California’s November 2025 special election on Proposition 50, launching an independent investigation into alleged vote-count discrepancies in defiance of orders from the state’s top elections officials.
The action, confirmed by Bianco’s office and reported by multiple outlets, involves roughly 1,000 boxes of ballot materials taken from the county Registrar of Voters under court-approved search warrants. Bianco’s department plans to conduct a physical hand count of the ballots and compare the results with the officially recorded totals.
The investigation stems from claims by the Riverside Election Integrity Team, a third-party group that reviewed polling logs and asserted there were approximately 45,000 “excess votes” — citing handwritten intake logs showing roughly 611,000 ballots cast compared to the certified machine count of about 657,000. County elections officials, including Registrar Art Tinoco, have rejected the group’s conclusions, explaining that initial intake logs are estimates rather than precise tallies and that the final certified results were accurate within a very narrow margin (0.16%, or just 103 votes in Riverside County).
Proposition 50 was a high-stakes special election measure aimed at temporarily redrawing California’s congressional districts in response to Republican-led redistricting efforts in states like Texas. It passed narrowly statewide.
Sheriff Bianco, a Republican candidate for California governor, defended the seizure at a Friday press conference, stating: “This investigation is simple: Physically count the ballots and compare that result with the total votes recorded.” He accused California Attorney General Rob Bonta of attempting to interfere with the probe and described the state’s objections as politically motivated.
State officials have pushed back strongly. Secretary of State Shirley Weber said Bianco has no legal authority to perform a recount and that his actions “risk undermining public confidence in our elections.” Attorney General Bonta’s office sent multiple letters to Bianco, citing “legal deficiencies in the affidavits underlying the warrants” and accusing the sheriff of stonewalling requests for information. Bonta’s team described the investigation as based on “vague, unsubstantiated allegations” and warned it could set a dangerous precedent.
A judge recently ordered a pause in any counting and required the involvement of a special master to oversee the process going forward.
The clash highlights deepening tensions in California over election integrity and local versus state authority. Bianco has clashed publicly with Democratic leaders, including on social media with Rep. Eric Swalwell. No charges have been filed, and the probe is described by the sheriff’s office as a fact-finding effort rather than a formal recount that would alter election results.
The seized ballots remain in the sheriff’s custody as the legal and political fallout continues. State officials have not ruled out further court action to regain control of the materials.