{"id":2588640,"date":"2026-04-08T16:25:02","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T20:25:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/california-gop-sheriff-chad-bianco-ordered-to-halt-ballot-investigation\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T16:28:05","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T20:28:05","slug":"california-gop-sheriff-chad-bianco-ordered-to-halt-ballot-investigation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/california-gop-sheriff-chad-bianco-ordered-to-halt-ballot-investigation\/","title":{"rendered":"California GOP sheriff Chad Bianco ordered to halt ballot investigation"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcalifornia-gop-sheriff-chad-bianco-ordered-to-halt-ballot-investigation%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2588640&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A California Supreme Court temporarily halts Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco\u2019s ballot-investigation and orders him to preserve all seized ballots-more than 650,000-after the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >state <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-ag-barr-authorizes-federal-prosecutors-to-pursue-substantial-allegations-of-voting-irregularities-before-2020-election-is-certified\/\" title=\"BREAKING: AG Barr Authorizes Federal Prosecutors to Pursue &quot;Substantial Allegations&quot; of Voting Irregularities Before 2020 Election is Certified\">attorney general<\/a> challenged<\/a> the probe.Bianco, a GOP gubernatorial candidate, had saeid the investigation aimed to verify discrepancies between physical ballots and reported votes, and the court\u2019s action comes as ongoing litigation led by the attorney general and UCLA Voting rights Project proceeds.The sheriff\u2019s office had previously seized hundreds of thousands of ballots, with the warrant to seize them having been sealed and then unsealed amid media scrutiny.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">California GOP sheriff Chad Bianco ordered to halt ballot investigation<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2553894\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/california\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"60\">California<\/a> Supreme Court handed down an order Wednesday temporarily halting an <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/election-fraud\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1859\">election fraud<\/a> investigation led by Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, whose office has seized more than 650,000 <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ballots\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"2803\">ballots<\/a> from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/georgia-secretary-of-state-there-will-be-a-recount\/\" title=\"Georgia Secretary of State: &#039;There Will Be a Recount&#039;\">county election officials<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The ballots retrieved by the Republican sheriff&rsquo;s office were cast in the state&rsquo;s special election on <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/redistricting\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"241\">redistricting<\/a> in the fall. Bianco is a GOP California gubernatorial candidate and is <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/cadem.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/4.7.26-CA-Voter-Index-Tracking-Survey-I-Topline.pdf\">neck-and-neck<\/a> in the polls with Republican Steve Hilton, whom President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"4\">Donald Trump<\/a> recently endorsed.<\/p>\n<p>The effort drew scrutiny from California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D), who asked the state&rsquo;s high court to intervene. The court sided with Bonta for now while it reviews the legal merits of the case.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The California Supreme Court specifically ordered Bianco to pause the investigation and preserve all seized ballots. Bonta hailed the ruling as a &ldquo;necessary and appropriate response to what is clearly an unprecedented situation&rdquo; caused by the law enforcement official.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The Riverside County Sheriff willfully defied my direct orders, seized 650,000 ballots, misused criminal investigatory tools, and created a constitutional emergency in the process,&rdquo; Bonta said in a statement provided to the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Bianco launched an investigation into an alleged ballot-count discrepancy last month based on a complaint from a local citizens group. The purpose of the investigation was to compare the number of physical ballots to the total reported votes, he said.<\/p>\n<p>Bianco previously said he voluntarily put the ballot investigation on hold &ldquo;because of the politically motivated lawsuits and court filings.&rdquo; Besides the Democratic attorney general, the UCLA Voting Rights Project is leading its own legal challenge.<\/p>\n<p>The sheriff&rsquo;s decision to pause the investigation came shortly after his office seized an additional 426 boxes of ballots. Initially, about 1,000 boxes of election materials were seized in March.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;What the Sheriff says and what he does are often two different things,&rdquo; Bonta added. &ldquo;Today&rsquo;s decision by the California Supreme Court reins in the destabilizing actions of a rogue Sheriff, prohibiting him from continuing this investigation while our litigation continues.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> contacted the Riverside County Sheriff&rsquo;s Office for comment. The office said a statement from Bianco was requested.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/4518040\/trump-endorsement-steve-hilton-california-gubernatorial-race\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/4518040\/trump-endorsement-steve-hilton-california-gubernatorial-race\/\">TRUMP ENDORSEMENT OF STEVE HILTON COULD BACKFIRE IN CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL RACE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/oregon-governor-encourages-people-to-call-police-on-neighbors-violating-covid-orders\/\" title=\"Oregon Governor Encourages People To Call Police On Neighbors Violating COVID ...\">county sheriff<\/a> had obtained a search warrant from Riverside County Superior Court Judge Jay Kiel to seize more than half a million ballots. Notably, Bianco endorsed Kiel while the latter campaigned to serve on the bench in 2022. In return, Kiel openly praised Bianco at the time.<\/p>\n<p>The warrant had been sealed until Wednesday, when another Superior Court judge issued an order to unseal it following a request made by the <em>San Francisco Chronicle<\/em> and other news outlets.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CA Supreme Court halts Bianco ballot probe<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2159,"featured_media":2588641,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AP26079041379223.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[53545,77427,69175,32644,6203],"class_list":["post-2588640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-ballot-investigation","tag-california-sheriff","tag-chad-bianco","tag-election-integrity","tag-gop"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AP26079041379223.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2588640","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2159"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2588640"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2588640\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2588644,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2588640\/revisions\/2588644"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2588641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2588640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2588640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2588640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}