California Supreme Court Orders Republican Sheriff To Halt Election Probe | EUROtoday

The California Supreme Court has ordered Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco to halt his election probe – and protect the ballots he’s seized – because it weighs a case difficult his actions, a number of shops reported.

Earlier this yr, Bianco, who’s additionally a Republican candidate for California governor, seized greater than 650,000 ballots solid in a 2025 particular election involving a redistricting poll measure. He argued that he did so to analyze alleged counting discrepancies which have additionally been raised by a conservative group. Election officersin the meantime, have disputed these claims.

Bianco’s actions have drawn a number of lawsuits, together with from California Attorney General Rob Bontawho has argued that the sheriff lacks authorized grounds for the probe and is sowing mistrust in elections by pursuing it. Bianco’s investigation into claims of alleged fraud additionally echoes comparable unfounded claims President Donald Trump has lengthy made concerning the 2020 election.

The California Supreme Court stated Wednesday that it could hear Bonta’s problem and that Bianco was required to stop his investigation whereas it thought of the swimsuit and “preserve all seized items.”

In a video posted to Instagram on Wednesday, Bianco stated that he plans to proceed advocating for the inquiry.

“We are still at the hold of a court so we are not allowed to progress with the counting of the ballots, and we’ll just continue fighting for this for you,” he stated.

Bianco advised The Washington Post that he would take into consideration seizing the ballots in California’s upcoming gubernatorial major, too, if questions emerged about the best way that contest was dealt with.

Both Bonta and California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) welcomed the court docket’s order on Wednesday.

“Today’s decision is a victory for democracy and the rule of law,” Newsom stated in an announcement on social media. “This rogue sheriff chased conspiracy theories, tried to undermine our elections, and got the ruling he deserved. Trump and MAGA’s election denialism is a cancer, a danger to our democracy, and it must be stopped.”