Republican Sheriff Investigates 2025 Election Ballots Amid Dispute
Chad Bianco, the Republican sheriff of Riverside County and a candidate for governor, has seized over 650,000 ballots from last year’s election, intensifying a dispute with state officials. Bianco asserts that his investigation targets allegations of unlawful ballot casting related to the passage of Proposition 50.
Proposition 50, which was approved in the 2025 election, redrew California’s congressional districts. The measure was seen as a response to similar redistricting efforts in Republican-led states such as Texas, with critics arguing it favored Democrats through gerrymandering.
State election officials and California Attorney General Rob Bonta have dismissed claims of unlawful voting. According to official data, the difference between the machine count and the final tally submitted to the state is only 103 votes.
Bianco’s team obtained the ballots following search warrants executed last month. A Riverside Superior Court judge appointed a special master to oversee the counting of the ballots, according to Bianco.
“This investigation is simple: physically count the ballots and compare that result with the total votes recorded,” Bianco said.
Bianco has pursued this investigation for several months. The Riverside Election Integrity Team, a group of local residents, alleged a discrepancy of 45,896 votes between the final vote count and handwritten records of hand-counted ballots.
“There is no indication, anywhere in the United States, of widespread voter fraud,” Bonta stated.“Counts, recounts, hand counts, audits, and court cases all support this.”
Bonta, a Democrat, described Bianco’s actions as unprecedented and intended to undermine public trust in elections.
Bianco is among the two leading Republicans in California’s crowded gubernatorial primary, which also includes more than six Democrats. California’s top-two primary system places all candidates on the same ballot regardless of party affiliation, advancing the two candidates with the highest votes to the November general election.
Over the past two months, Bonta has sent multiple letters to Bianco’s office, stating that his staff lacks the qualifications to conduct a recount. In one letter, Bonta called the ballot seizure “unacceptable,” warning that it “sets a dangerous precedent and will only sow distrust in our elections.”
Last year, California voters decisively approved the redistricting initiative championed by Governor Gavin Newsom. The measure was a counter to efforts by former President Donald Trump and Republican states to gerrymander new conservative districts. California Republicans, supported by the Trump administration, challenged the initiative, but the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the new maps to proceed.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
