The California Supreme Court has unanimously ruled against Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco in two cases stemming from his investigation into possible ballot-count discrepancies in the 2025 special election.
The rulings in Bonta v. Bianco and Cervantes v. Bianco found that the sheriff defied California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s orders to stop the election investigation and violated state election law after illegally seizing more than 650,000 Riverside County voter ballots as part of that investigation.
Bianco’s investigation centered on possible ballot-count discrepancies presented by a Riverside County citizens group.
After months of debate, the state Supreme Court sided with Bonta and Riverside Councilmember Clarissa Cervantes, ordering Bianco to immediately return all seized election materials to the Riverside County Registrar of Voters and follow the attorney general’s orders to terminate the investigation.
Court addresses seizure of voter ballots
The ruling in Cervantes v. Bianco centered on the seizure of the ballots and the state rules governing who can access them.
In its ruling, the court wrote:
“While allegations are a very serious matter, our Elections Code contains numerous established mechanisms for investigating and proving misconduct that do not compromise the integrity of voted ballots.”
Indio Councilmember Oscar Ortiz supported Cervantes in her challenge against Bianco. Ortiz said the decision settles a question he believes should have been clear from the beginning.
Despite the two unanimous rulings against him, Bianco said he continues to stand behind the reasons for his investigation.
Bonta, meanwhile, said the justices confirmed the authority he maintained he had throughout the dispute.
Rulings follow new California election laws
The two decisions come just days after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed more than a dozen new California election laws intended to protect the integrity of California voters and their ballots, including additional restrictions on the seizure of ballots.
Newsom responded to the court’s decisions, saying in part:
“Today’s ruling affirms that in California we will defend democracy — using every branch of government. And the new laws I signed just last week add new protections so attacks like this cannot happen again.”
The rulings will not become final for at least 30 days.
It is not yet clear when the seized ballots will be returned to the Riverside County Registrar of Voters.
