The California Supreme Court ruled earlier today that Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco illegally confiscated about 650,000 ballots cast in last year’s special election.
The state’s high court said that Bianco — who finished fourth in this year’s gubernatorial primary — must return the ballots and refrain from “further handling them.”
CalMatters reports that this is the court’s second ruling against Bianco. In the first, Bianco was found to have broken the law by ignoring a directive from state Attorney General Rob Bonta to hold off on plans to execute a search warrant to seize the ballots.
Bianco’s lawyers had argued that Bonta had overstepped his authority in issuing the directive ordering him not to execute the search warrant to seize ballots cast during last year’s special election.
Under the terms of the ruling, Bianco is ordered to return the ballots to the registrar. The sheriff’s office said that it would continue an ongoing investigation into last year’s election, despite the ruling.
