The California Supreme Court ruled Sept. 24 that Riverside County Sheriff unlawfully seized ballots cast in the 2025 special election on Proposition 50, and that voted ballots must stay with elections officials even during a criminal investigation.
The court decided two cases. In Cervantes v. Bianco, brought by Riverside County voters who sued to get their ballots back to the registrar, it held that voted ballots must “remain in the elections official’s custody even in the event of a criminal investigation,” according to Attorney General ’s office, which quoted the ruling. In Bonta v. Bianco, it affirmed the attorney general’s constitutional and statutory authority to supervise county sheriffs and ordered Bianco to comply with Bonta’s directives.
Bianco obtained search warrants in February 2026 and seized about 650,000 ballots, according to the attorney general’s office, which says the warrants rested on affidavits that did not establish probable cause. Bonta had directed the sheriff to pause the investigation and preserve the evidence; Bianco went ahead. Both Bonta’s office and Gov. ’s office say the sheriff has produced no evidence of fraud in the election.
“The Court has now made clear that this kind of defiance cannot stand, that the Attorney General has the authority to intervene when sheriffs take improper action, and that voted ballots belong in the custody of elections officials,” Bonta said.
“Today’s ruling affirms that in California we will defend democracy,” Newsom said in a statement, adding that “the new laws I signed just last week add new protections so attacks like this cannot happen again.”
Newsom signed a 13-bill election protection package last week. One of the bills, Senate Bill 1418, was sponsored by Bonta and strengthens protections for election materials; Bonta’s office says it told the court the new law covers not only voted ballots but the other election materials the sheriff seized.
Bonta’s office says the Cervantes ruling means no state court should again issue a warrant letting anyone other than elections officials physically seize voted ballots. The decisions come less than six weeks before the Nov. 3 election. Neither release included a response from Bianco.
Local
Chad Bianco
Sheriff of Riverside County · Republican
Named 8 times in this story.
Portrait: Riverside County Sheriff's Office / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
State
Rob Bonta
Attorney General · Democrat
Named once in this story.
Portrait: Official portrait
State
Gavin Newsom
Governor · Democrat
Named 3 times in this story.
Portrait: Official portrait
Correction
An earlier version of this article attributed to Gov. Gavin Newsom the words “that the seizure of the ballots was unlawful.” They are the California Supreme Court’s finding, as quoted in the governor’s statement, not Newsom’s own words. The article has also been updated with details of the two rulings from the attorney general’s office.
Sources & methodology
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