Sheriff Running For CA Governor Seizes Ballots In Defiance Of CA Justice Department

RIVERSIDE, CA —Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, the Republican gubernatorial candidate, has seized more ballots from last year's Prop 50 special election, ignoring a directive by Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta. Bianco has described his investigation as a fact-finding mission in response to allegations of election fraud.

Bonta has called the allegations unsubstantiated and sued this week to halt the sheriff's investigation. Bianco's critics say his investigation is politically motivated, claiming he is trying to curry favor with the president while undermining public confidence in elections.

Bianco dismissed the criticism in a statement to the Associated Press.

"We are conducting a lawful investigation, approved by a judge," he said. “I think the failed democratic candidates are just trying to rally a base for their own political benefit."

Bianco said the investigation had “absolutely nothing to do” with his campaign for governor.

“I have a duty to investigate alleged crime in Riverside County,” he said.

Bianco requested 426 additional boxes of ballot materials earlier this week after already confiscating about 650,000 ballots from last year’s special election.

On Monday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit against Bianco, which alleged Bianco “initiated a sweeping and unprecedented criminal investigation into claimed discrepancies between the number of votes that were cast and the number of votes that were counted" before adding that "absent swift action by this Court, the Sheriff’s misguided investigation threatens to sow distrust and jeopardize public confidence in the upcoming primary and general elections, not just in Riverside County but around the State."

Bonta has repeatedly sent letters to Bianco’s office over the last two months saying his staff is not qualified to conduct a recount. In one of the letters, Bonta wrote that the ballot seizure was “unacceptable” and “sets a dangerous precedent and will only sow distrust in our elections.”

The letters said Bianco seized nearly 1,000 boxes of ballots and elections materials from the county's elections office with a warrant in February. At issue, Bianco said, is a discrepancy a citizen group reported between the handwritten ballot intake logs and the number of votes reported to the state.

Bianco said the alleged discrepancy amounted to about 45,800 votes — a difference elections officials have refuted at county meetings, saying the machine count and the final count submitted to the state differed by about 100 votes. They argue the handwritten rolls, which were not relied on to check the count, were being kept by temporary elections workers who had worked long days and may have made mistakes.

On Tuesday, a judge denied Bonta's petition to stop the recount.

Bianco said Friday that the count had started and stopped, but would now resume under the supervision of a special master appointed by a judge.

Bianco has espoused anti-voting rhetoric in the past, according to an investigation by Democracy Docket.

Bianco is facing several lawsuits, including pushback from Bonta and state officials who called the sheriff's investigation baseless. The UCLA Voting Rights Project filed a lawsuit requesting officials block Bianco from recounting ballot materials from Proposition 50.

Last week, Secretary of State Dr. Shirley N. Weber issued a statement "to set the record straight" in response to Bianco's accusations that the Office of the California Secretary of State tried to interfere with the sheriff's "investigation" of election irregularities in Riverside County.

"The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office has taken actions based on allegations that lack credible evidence and risk undermining public confidence in our elections," Weber said.

"The sheriff's assertion that his deputies know how to count is admirable. The fact remains that he and his deputies are not elections officials and they do not have expertise in election administration. Investigations into election processes must be conducted by those with the appropriate legal authority and subject matter expertise. Similar claims raised in other states by individuals without election administration experience have been thoroughly reviewed and debunked," she continued.

Bianco, who is running for governor, has emerged a leader in recent poll numbers, trailing Republican commentator Steve Hilton who is also running for governor.

Prop 50 opponents have argued the measure to redraw California’s congressional districts was unfair and favored Democrats. The measure was passed overwhelmingly with 64.4 percent of California voters supporting the redistricting effort.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.