SAN FRANCISCO — A Southern California sheriff who seized more than half a million ballots must return them to county election officials, the California 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. The measure passed in the Southern California county by roughly 80,000 votes.
Bianco must also “refrain from further handling of the ballots except as necessary to comply with our order,” the court said in a unanimous decision.
Bianco said he confiscated the election materials as part of a criminal investigation he launched
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