CAL.Court order
California Supreme Court orders Riverside sheriff to return 650,000 ballots and affirms state AG oversight
The Supreme Court of California issued two unanimous opinions on Thursday ordering Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco to return approximately 650,000 voted ballots seized following the November 2025 special election. Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero held that Elections Code section 15551, as it then read, prohibited removing ballots from election officials' custody even during criminal investigations. The court also held that Article V, Section 13 of the California Constitution grants Attorney General Rob Bonta binding supervisory authority over county sheriffs' investigations.
Order (Supreme Court of California) → · KQED, State of California - Department of Justice - Office of the Attorney General, Horvitz & Levy LLP
Key points
- The court held search warrants cannot override statutory custody protections requiring election officials to maintain exclusive possession of voted ballots.Supreme Court of CaliforniaKQED
- The ruling disapproved dicta in People v. Brophy that previously limited the Attorney General's direct supervisory authority over county sheriffs.Supreme Court of CaliforniaHorvitz & Levy LLP
- Justice Goodwin Liu concurred, noting election officials faced increased harassment and can move in superior court to quash improper warrants.Supreme Court of CaliforniaHorvitz & Levy LLP
- Sheriff Bianco seized the ballots in February 2026 after conservative group Riverside Election Integrity Team questioned Proposition 50 counts.Supreme Court of CaliforniaKQED
- Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed Senate Bill 1418, which further codifies chain-of-custody protocols for election materials.State of California - Department of Justice - Office of the Attorney GeneralHorvitz & Levy LLP
Sources5 articles across 4 outlets
Supreme Court of California
Horvitz & Levy LLP
KQED
State of California - Department of Justice - Office of the Attorney General
Filed under
Court orderCal.SB 1418 — Election Materials Custody and PreservationCal.ElectionsLitigationPublic safetyRegulatoryFor practitionersFor governance