Sheriff Chad Bianco’s investigation “is little more than a fishing expedition,” Rob Bonta’s office says.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta is asking a state appeals court to pause a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigation into ballots cast by county voters in the November 2025 Proposition 50 special election.
The Riverside County sheriff launched “an unprecedented criminal investigation” into the November 2025 Proposition 50 special election “without identifying any particular crime that may have been committed by anyone” and “openly defying the Attorney General’s lawful directives,” Bonta’s officeIn an emailed statement, the attorney general’s office said the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department “is not equipped nor legally authorized to play the role of elections monitor.” “By all appearances, this investigation is little more than a fishing expedition meant to sow distrust and undermine public confidence in our elections.” At a news conference Friday, March 20, Bianco — a leading GOP candidate for governor in 2026 — accused Bonta, a Democrat, In an emailed statement Tuesday, Bianco said: “How many crimes has Bonta investigated? Zero. How many times has he sat before a judge with a warrant in an investigation? Zero.” “The questions should be directed only toward Bonta,” the sheriff said. “Why would you interfere and obstruct an investigation instead of assist? What are you afraid of?”Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco speaks at a Friday, March 20, 2026, news conference about his department’s investigation into alleged election fraud in the county. The sheriff’s probe stems from a complaint filed by a citizen’s election watchdog group. The Riverside Election Integrity Team alleges there’s a roughly 45,000-vote gap between ballots received and ballots counted by Riverside County in last November’s election for Proposition 50, a ballot measure that redrew California’s congressional districts to favor Democrats. Riverside County Registrar of Voters Art Tinoco disputes the alleged 45,000-vote gap, calling it a misreading of election data. The actual gap between ballots counted and ballots cast is just 103 votes, Tinoco has said. Citing his authority as the county’s top law enforcement officer, Bianco launched an investigation and obtained a search warrant to seize roughly 1,000 boxes of ballot materials from the registrar. More than 656,000 registered voters in Riverside County cast ballots in last November’s election. Bianco has said his department will count the ballots to determine if the alleged gap exists and if so, what caused it. He said the probe has nothing to do with his gubernatorial bid. But the investigation raises questions about how Bianco —, who frequently spreads election misinformation and denies losing to Joe Biden in 2020 — would handle election matters if elected governor. In court documents, Bonta’s office focused on Bianco’s comments from last week’s news conference about the investigation being a fact-finding mission and that its purpose “is just as much to prove the election is accurate as it is to show otherwise.” Fact finding is “a blatantly insufficient basis to embark on a criminal investigation,” Bonta’s office argued in papers filed with the state appellate court. The sheriff’s Thursday, March 19, search warrant application is “so facially insufficient that it failed to meet even the most basic constitutional and statutory standards, most notably that it did not allege the commission of a crime,” the appeal read, adding the sheriff is flagrantly ignoring Bonta’s authority over California sheriffs. The appeal asks the court “to pause all work and provide the Attorney General with a copy of the case file and related documents so he could better understand the basis of the investigation and work with the Sheriff to decide the best course of action.” The sheriff, who called Bonta “an embarrassment to law enforcement” at Friday’s event, maintains he has an obligation to investigate alleged crimes in Riverside County. “I hope we can all agree,” the sheriff said Friday. “There is no acceptable error, small or large in our elections, let alone a 45,000-vote difference.” Riverside County Supervisor Jose Medina, a former Democratic assemblymember, criticized Bianco’s investigation during Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting. “Many on different sides of the political spectrum have said how wrong this is,” Medina said. “It’s mind-boggling to me how we’ve gotten here.”Why a Riverside County sheriff’s voter fraud probe worries democracy watchdogs“We all heard the same evidence. None of us saw any wrongdoing. But still the Riverside County sheriff, for his own political reasons, chose to take those ballots” from the registrar.That investigation is continuing, Bianco said Friday.into the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, which has been criticized for the number of inmate deaths in its jails. Bianco said that investigation is politically motivated.Review: Famed classic rock act showcases new lead singer in concertAsking Eric: My friends tell me I'm lucky. Who can I talk to about what my husband does?San Jose: Family seethes as judge further reduces sentence in 1987 capital murder caseEnd of the road coming for legal battle over gate in Fremont
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