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Lawsuit seeks return of 656,000 ballots seized in Riverside County sheriff’s investigation

March 26, 2026

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department should return more than 656,000 ballots seized as part of an investigation into November’s special election, a voters’ rights group argues in a new legal filing.

The UCLA Voting Rights Project filed a petition with the California Supreme Court on Thursday, March 26, arguing that the decision by Sheriff Chad Bianco — who is running for governor in 2026 — to seize county ballots from the Proposition 50 election violated laws on storage and handling of election materials.

“Our election laws are clear: voter ballots are sacred and must be protected from tampering,” former state attorney general Xavier Becerra, a senior voting rights advisor of the project, said in an emailed statement.

“Sheriff Chad Bianco is supposed to enforce the law, not break it.”

Bianco did not immediately respond Thursday morning to a request for comment.

Becerra, a Democrat, also is running for California governor.

The sheriff’s investigation, which is making national headlines, began earlier this year.

It stems from a Riverside citizen’s election watchdog group’s allegation of a 45,000-gap between ballots cast in Riverside County and ballots received in the Proposition 50 election, which redrew congressional districts to help California Democrats win more seats.

Riverside County Registrar of Voters Art Tinoco denied the gap was that large, putting the actual gap at 103 votes — well within the margin of error set by California’s Secretary of State.

Armed with a search warrant, sheriff’s investigators earlier this year seized about 1,000 boxes of election materials from the registrar. Bianco has said his office will count all the ballots cast in Riverside County last November to see if the 45,000-vote gap exists and if so, why.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, left, and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco are at odds over the sheriff's investigation into ballots that were cast in Riverside County during the November 2025 Proposition 50 special election. (Bianco and Bonta file photos by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) — California Attorney General Rob Bonta, left, and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco are at odds over the sheriff’s investigation into ballots that were cast in Riverside County during the November 2025 Proposition 50 special election. (Bianco and Bonta file photos by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

The investigation faces heavy pushback from California Attorney General Rob Bonta and other Democratic officials who see it as a fishing expedition that threatens the public’s confidence in democracy.

Secretary of State Shirley Weber’s office argued that Bianco’s team lacks the skills and experience to handle ballots. Bianco said his investigators know how to count.

Bonta went to court this week to seek a pause in the investigation. Three appellate judges denied Bonta’s request on technical grounds, and Bianco has denounced Bonta, who’s also investigating his department for alleged civil rights violations, as “an embarrassment to law enforcement.”

The sheriff, a Republican, has said the investigation has nothing to do with his gubernatorial bid.

As Riverside County’s top law enforcement officer, Bianco maintains it’s his job to investigate crimes in Riverside County, although he’s stopped short of asserting the alleged 45,000-vote gap is the result of criminal wrongdoing.

In its news release, the voting rights project argues that while Bianco “does have the power of investigation, he does not have any legal authority to remove ballots from the Registrar of Voters’ office” and legally can’t oversee a recount.

“Riverside County has a proven track record of accurately tabulating ballots,” the project added.

Between November 2020 and November 2026, the county’s certified vote tally “(exactly matches) the California Secretary of State certified vote tally to the exact same number,” the project’s news release states.

One of the petitioners listed on the voting right project’s filing is Riverside City Councilmember Clarissa Cervantes, who is running as a Democrat for an Inland Empire Assembly seat.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Lawsuit seeks return of 656,000 ballots seized in Riverside County sheriff’s investigation Orange County Register

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Lawsuit seeks return of 656,000 ballots seized in Riverside County sheriff’s investigation

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