# Riverside County ballot seizure legal dispute > Live situation record from CLSTR: https://clstr.news/situations/riverside-county-ballot-seizure-legal-dispute > Updated: 2026-09-26T15:50:10.000Z. Sources: 37. Developments: 2. The California Supreme Court issued unanimous rulings against Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco regarding the seizure of approximately 650,000 ballots from a 2025 special election. The seizure was prompted by claims from the Riverside Election Integrity Team that vote tallies from a redistricting referendum, known as Proposition 50, did not align with the number of ballots received. While activists alleged a discrepancy of nearly 46,000 votes, election officials stated the actual discrepancy was only 103 votes. The court declared the seizure unlawful, noting that state law requires voted ballots to remain under the custody of election officials even during criminal investigations. Associate Justice Goodwin H. Liu characterized the incident as the “unlawful removal and handling by armed deputies of over 1,000 boxes of documents.” Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero further noted that ballots must remain in the custody of election officials during active criminal probes. Additionally, the justices ruled that Bianco violated the law by ignoring directives from Attorney General Rob Bonta to halt the investigation. The court affirmed the Attorney General’s constitutional authority to issue binding directions to sheriffs to ensure uniform law enforcement. Consequently, the court ordered the immediate return of all seized materials to the Riverside County Registrar of Voters and ruled that Bianco must cease his criminal investigation into the election results unless he receives explicit permission from Attorney General Bonta. ## Claims - The Riverside Election Integrity Team alleged a discrepancy of 45,896 votes between precinct logs and the certified count. (disputed by 2 sources) - Registrar of Voters Art Tinoco stated the actual vote gap was only 103 votes. (disputed) - The California Supreme Court ordered Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco to return approximately 650,000 seized ballots. (corroborated by 11 sources) - The investigation was initiated following claims by activists that vote tallies from a recent special election on redistricting did not match received ballots. (corroborated by 11 sources) - Associate Justice Goodwin H. Liu described the removal and handling of over 1,000 boxes of documents by armed deputies as unlawful. (corroborated by 11 sources) - The California Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Sheriff Chad Bianco must halt his criminal investigation into alleged election irregularities. (corroborated by 2 sources) ## Timeline ### 2026-09-26: Riverside County Sheriff ordered to return 650,000 seized ballots The California Supreme Court ordered Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco to return 650,000 seized ballots and halt his investigation into alleged election irregularities without state approval. 12 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/california-supreme-court-orders-riverside-county-sheriff-to-return-650000-seized-ballots ### 2026-09-24: Riverside County Sheriff ordered to return 650,000 seized ballots The California Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco unlawfully seized 650,000 ballots and must return them to election officials. 25 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/california-supreme-court-rules-riverside-county-sheriff-broke-election-law --- Cite as: Riverside County ballot seizure legal dispute. CLSTR, https://clstr.news/situations/riverside-county-ballot-seizure-legal-dispute