California Supreme Court orders Sheriff Bianco to return seized ballots

The California Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco must return all seized ballots to election officials.

The backstory:

In March, the sheriff and former gubernatorial candidate seized over 650,000 ballots from the state’s November election.

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Bianco launched an investigation into the November special election on Proposition 50 after a third-party organization, the Riverside Election Integrity Team, claimed it found roughly 45,000 excess votes. California election officials dismissed the team's findings, but Bianco said his office would conduct another count.

"I did this, and this was legal," Bianco previously said. "I went a different route. They are legal. Both routes are legal. It's just their side doesn't like the route I chose."

What they're saying:

"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. People deserve to know their ballot is counted and secure, and in California we will do everything we can to protect that constitutional right — this year, and beyond," California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Bianco released a statement saying, "We are very disappointed and wholeheartedly disagree with the court's ruling. The investigation was a lawful and legal investigation into potential election fraud. The facts of this case have never been disputed. This was an obvious legal attempt to prevent the investigation from occurring that was successful. By granting the attorney general the ability to prevent lawful investigations, this ruling will have negative consequences for public safety in California. Confidence in our elections is essential. This ruling and the destruction of potential evidence without answers undermines the public trust in our systems. Riverside County residents should be assured that as long as I am their Sheriff, I will continue to fight crime and corruption regardless of where it comes from."