California Supreme Court Orders Sheriff to Halt Election Investigation
The New York Times • • nation
Key Points:
- The California Supreme Court ordered Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco to halt his investigation into the 2025 election after he seized over 650,000 ballots, citing unsubstantiated claims of vote tally discrepancies.
- Sheriff Bianco, a Republican and gubernatorial candidate, initiated the probe following allegations by election activists that vote counts did not match ballots received, but local authorities quickly debunked these claims.
- Despite objections from California’s attorney general and secretary of state, Bianco continued the investigation, including recounting ballots after being ordered to stop, raising concerns about undermining public trust in elections.
- The election involved approving new congressional district boundaries aimed at countering Texas Republicans' gerrymandering, with the seized Riverside ballots unlikely to affect the statewide result.
- The Supreme Court’s order mandates preservation of all investigation materials while the case is reviewed, but the extent of the investigation remains unclear, with records showing only about 12,561 ballots recounted from 22 boxes.
