{"id":2590283,"date":"2026-04-13T15:45:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T19:45:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/california-ballot-seizure-controversy-deepens-after-state-supreme-court-steps-in\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T15:47:47","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T19:47:47","slug":"california-ballot-seizure-controversy-deepens-after-state-supreme-court-steps-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/california-ballot-seizure-controversy-deepens-after-state-supreme-court-steps-in\/","title":{"rendered":"California Ballot Seizure Controversy Deepens After State Supreme Court Steps In"},"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\">22<\/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-ballot-seizure-controversy-deepens-after-state-supreme-court-steps-in%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=2590283&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 halted an inquiry by riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco into ballots from a November 2025 special election after his office seized the ballots amid allegations of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/steven-crowder-temporarily-suspended-from-twitter-over-voter-fraud-post-crowder-responds-fight-like-hell\/\" title=\"Steven Crowder Temporarily Suspended From Twitter Over Voter Fraud Post; Crowder Responds: \u2018Fight Like Hell\u2019\">potential voter fraud<\/a>. Bianco, who is also running for California governor as a Republican, seized more than 650,000 ballots from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-zuckerberg-broke-law-with-dropboxes\/\" title=\"Trump: Zuckerberg &#039;Broke Law&#039; with Dropboxes\">local election office<\/a> following <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/unsealed-court-docs-show-the-fbi-probing-possible-election-crimes-in-fulton-county\/\" title=\"Court Docs: FBI Probing Possible Election Crimes In Fulton Co.\">discrepancies cited<\/a> by a watchdog group. The special election centered on Proposition 50,a measure that would have redrawn California\u2019s congressional maps to advantage Democrats and temporarily shift some redistricting power away from the California Citizens Redistricting Commission; the measure passed but was later challenged by the Justice Department. The Supreme court denied an emergency request to block the map, and the investigation\u2019s continuation became a point of political contention between Bianco and California Attorney General Rob Bonta. The case has broader implications for california politics, including the state\u2019s jungle primary system and current gubernatorial dynamics.  <\/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\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?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<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>The California Supreme Court halted an investigation by Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco last week into ballots from a November 2025 special election, after his office seized them following accusations of potential voter fraud.<\/p>\n<p>Bianco, who is also running for governor of California as a Republican, seized more than 650,000 ballots from the local election office after a community watchdog group cited alleged discrepancies, <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/regulation\/court-battles\/5823948-bianco-investigation-riverside-ballots\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">according<\/a> to The Hill.<\/p>\n<p>The special election centered on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/asking-majority-californians-now-back-gavin-newsoms-gerrymandering-gambit-poll-says\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Proposition 50<\/a>, a measure that would have amended the state&rsquo;s constitution to redraw California&rsquo;s congressional maps to favor Democrats before November&rsquo;s midterm elections.<\/p>\n<p>It would also temporarily take power away from the California Citizens Redistricting Commission to accomplish this.<\/p>\n<p>The measure passed by a wide majority and was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/doj-sues-california-gov-gavin-newsom-prop-50-redistricting-plan-unlawful-unconstitutional\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">later challenged<\/a> by the Justice Department. The Supreme Court denied an emergency request in February to block the map from going into effect.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadAnyclip() { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst container=document.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!container) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=\"https:\/\/player.anyclip.com\/anyclip-widget\/lre-widget\/prod\/v1\/src\/lre.js\"; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"pubname\", \"westernjournalcom\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"widgetname\", \"001w000001jULVcAAO_M12924\");  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ append inside the container so player shows in correct spot \t\t\t\t\t\tcontainer.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadAnyclip(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #anyclipvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#anyclipvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qNq7pJOCdAU?si=IFoRo0c4ttk9Yhho\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Bianco, however, said he was &ldquo;technically&hellip; very happy,&rdquo; that the California Supreme Court will be taking the case and reviewing it on the merits. He also slammed California&rsquo;s Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta in a recent Instagram <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DW4atNDgAc5\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">post<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We are happy with the ruling from the California Supreme Court this morning continuing the election investigation,&rdquo; the post from Bianco read. &ldquo;Our embarrassment of an <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" ><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> failed<\/a> in his disingenuous arguments and now the court will hear our case.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We will continue to argue for the investigation to continue despite political activist Rob Bonta&rsquo;s use of lawfare to stop it and cover up this lawful investigation,&rdquo; it continued. &ldquo;We simply need to know the total number of ballots. Bonta is wasting tax payer dollars for politics. Stay tuned California.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The post included a video of Bianco commenting on the case. He explained that the counting and examining of ballots will stop for the present, but that the battle will continue.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We are not allowed to progress with the counting of the ballots, and we&rsquo;ll just continue fighting for this for you, and we will make sure that an investigation, like any investigation, is completed and not swept under the rug, like our attorney general would like to happen,&rdquo; he said in the video.<\/p>\n<p>Bonta was the one who called on the state Supreme Court to step in.<\/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 obtained by The Hill.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;What the Sheriff says and what he does are often two different things,&rdquo; he continued. &ldquo;This 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>Bonta added, &ldquo;The Supreme Court has also agreed to review this case on the merits &mdash; a necessary and appropriate response to what is clearly an unprecedented situation.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>President Donald Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/trump-endorses-ex-fox-news-host-governors-race\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">endorsed<\/a> Steve Hilton, Bianco&rsquo;s top Republican competitor in the gubernatorial race, saying last week that &ldquo;he is a truly fine man, one who has watched as this once great State has gone to Hell.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>California has a jungle primary system, meaning that the two highest ranking candidates proceed to a runoff, regardless of party.<\/p>\n<p>It appears increasingly likely that two Republicans could end up on the ballot, especially given that Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/house-democrats-back-expulsion-eric-swalwell\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">dropped out<\/a> of the race and is facing possible expulsion from Congress due to several major scandals.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last week, the California Supreme Court halted Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco\u2019s probe into ballots from a November 2025 special election after his office seized the ballots amid voter-fraud allegations. Bianco-who is running for California governor as a Republican-took more than 650,000 ballots from the county elections office following claims by a watchdog group of discrepancies. The election centered on Proposition 50, a measure that would redraw California\u2019s congressional maps to favor Democrats before the midterms and temporarily strip power from the California Citizens Redistricting Commission to accomplish this. The measure passed but was challenged by the Justice Department, and the Supreme Court had previously refused an emergency request to block the map\u2019s implementation.<\/p>\n<p>Bianco said he was \u201ctechnically\u2026 very happy\u201d that the Supreme Court would review the case on its merits, even as he attacked California Attorney General Rob Bonta in an Instagram post, claiming the ruling would allow the investigation to continue. Bonta asserted that the sheriff willfully defied direct orders, seized 650,000 ballots, misused investigative tools, and created a constitutional emergency, and said the Supreme Court\u2019s review is a proper response to the unprecedented situation. He also criticized Bianco\u2019s actions as political. President Donald Trump endorsed Bianco\u2019s Republican rival Steve Hilton, saying Hilton is \u201ca truly fine man.\u201d California\u2019s jungle primary could leave two Republicans on the ballot, especially with Swalwell\u2019s withdrawal from the race<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2590284,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-04-13T143024.267.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[77696,4045,77333,77697],"class_list":["post-2590283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-ballotseizure","tag-california","tag-electionlaw","tag-statesupremecourt"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-04-13T143024.267.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2590283","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\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2590283"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2590283\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2590287,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2590283\/revisions\/2590287"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2590284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2590283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2590283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2590283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}