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Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco accuses attorney general of interfering in election probe

March 20, 2026

It’s “absolutely ridiculous” to suggest a probe into the Proposition 50 election in Riverside County “sows mistrust in our system,” county Sheriff Chad Bianco said Friday, March 20, as he outlined his rationale for the investigation while accusing California’s attorney general of trying to stop it.

Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office fired back, saying there are “serious questions about the merits” of the investigation into an alleged gap between ballots received and ballots counted. In an emailed statement, Bonta also alleged that warrants used to seize elections materials from Riverside County’s registrar of voters are flawed.

“Sheriff Bianco’s investigation is unprecedented in both scope and scale — and appears not to be based on facts or evidence but on unfounded allegations that have already been refuted by the Riverside Registrar of Voters,” Bonta said in the statement.

The investigation comes as Bianco, a Republican, is running for governor. Speaking to reporters at the sheriff’s downtown Riverside headquarters, Bianco said the investigation has nothing to do with his campaign.

“I have a duty to make sure we investigate crime in Riverside County, or alleged crime in Riverside County,” said Bianco, who was elected sheriff in 2018.

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco speaks at a Friday, March 20, 2026, news conference about his department’s investigation into alleged election fraud in the county. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)

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Earlier this month, the sheriff’s office confirmed it was investigating “alleged irregularities” in the Proposition 50 election in Riverside County.

Proposition 50 was a successful statewide ballot measure that drew California’s congressional districts to give Democrats an advantage in the 2026 midterm election.

It passed in Riverside County with 56% of the vote. More than 656,000 county voters participated in the special election.

Without naming names, Bianco on Friday appeared to confirm that the investigation stems from a complaint from the Riverside Election Integrity Team, a citizen’s election watchdog group.

According to the team, the total number of Proposition 50 votes tallied in Riverside County is roughly 45,000 more than the total number of ballots received and logged by the registrar’s office.

Registrar of Voters Art Tinoco disputes that figure. In a detailed presentation to Riverside County supervisors on Feb. 10, he said the actual gap is 103 votes — well within the state-mandated margin of error — and attributable to human error by fatigued election workers.

There should be no gap between ballots counted and received, Bianco said.

“I hope we can all agree,” the sheriff said Friday. “There is no acceptable error, small or large in our elections, let alone a 45,000-vote difference.”

On Feb. 9, sheriff’s investigators served on the registrar a warrant signed by a judge “for election materials related to the 2025 special election,” Bianco said.

He said the investigation will determine whether the 45,000-vote gap reported by the team is valid and if so, what caused it.

“This investigation is simple. Physically count the ballots and compare that result with the total votes reported,” Bianco said, adding it’s not a recount of the Proposition 50 election.

“The purpose of this investigation is just as much to prove the election is accurate as it is to show otherwise,” he said. “We will not know until the count is complete.”

A judge this week appointed a special court master to oversee the ballot count, Bianco said, adding he didn’t have a timetable for when the count will finish.

The sheriff said Bonta, a Democrat, asked him several weeks ago, without providing a reason, to delay the investigation until after March 6.

Bonta also demanded a halt to the investigation in letters dated Feb. 26 and March 4, the sheriff added.

“There is no legal justification for the attorney general to stop a lawful investigation,” he said, adding he will carry out his “constitutional duty to pursue justice impartially.”

In his office’s statement, Bonta said he “was surprised and disappointed by Sheriff Bianco’s statements in his press conference this morning.”

He said his office was concerned about the sheriff’s seizure of about “1,000 boxes of ballot materials” from the registrar.

“In the intervening weeks, we have attempted to work cooperatively with the Sheriff’s Office in order to better understand the basis for their investigation, including by reviewing the warrants themselves and by requesting the Sheriff’s complete investigative file,” Bonta said.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, seen Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025, said there are serious issues with a Riverside County Sheriff's Department investigation into ballots cast in Riverside County for the Proposition 50 special election in November 2025. (Mark Schiefelbein, AP file photo) — California Attorney General Rob Bonta, seen Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025, said there are serious issues with a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigation into ballots cast in Riverside County for the Proposition 50 special election in November 2025. (Mark Schiefelbein, AP file photo)

“During this time, the Sheriff has delayed, stonewalled, and otherwise refused to work with us in good faith. To date, the Sheriff has failed to provide most of the requested documentation.”

Bonta added: “What we have been able to learn raises serious questions about the merits of this investigation. We are especially concerned with legal deficiencies in the affidavits underlying the warrants, including the omission of material facts.”

Multiple studies and reports indicate voter fraud in U.S. elections is rare. “There is no indication, anywhere in the United States, of widespread voter fraud,” Bonta noted.

The California secretary of state’s office, which oversees elections, also is concerned about the sheriff’s investigation.

“The sheriff’s office seizure of ballots appears based on highly questionable allegations — and it is precisely this type of action by the sheriff that fuels election conspiracy theories that erode confidence in our nation’s elections,” the office said this week.

Assertions that investigating an election sows doubts “is absolutely ridiculous,” the sheriff said.

“What does sow mistrust in our system is failing to conduct an investigation, or worse, attempting to stop or interfere with a lawful investigation, to sweep it under the rug so evidence can possibly be destroyed.”

Bianco also criticized what he said was a state law requiring Proposition 50 ballots to be destroyed by May.

“It denies transparency, and it fosters a sense of corruptness in our attorney general,” said the sheriff, who also disputed the notion that his investigators lack the know-how to properly investigate elections.

“I cannot speak for (Bonta) … but I can assure you completely that my investigators definitely know how to count,” Bianco said.

It’s not the first time Bianco’s office has investigated county elections. In November 2023, sheriff’s investigators sought voter registration records and interviewed elections staff as part of a criminal probe into voter fraud, according to former registrar Rebeca Spencer.

That investigation is continuing, Bianco said Friday.

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco accuses attorney general of interfering in election probe Orange County Register

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Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco accuses attorney general of interfering in election probe

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