Chad Bianco’s Ballot Raid: A Political Stunt Wrapped in Questionable Warrants

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, who is also running for California governor, orchestrated a shocking seizure of 650,000 ballots from the state’s 2025 election. The justification? Warrants signed by a judge Bianco had endorsed, based solely on allegations from an activist group widely discredited by election experts.

The warrants, kept secret until recently, show Bianco’s investigators lacked insider tips, credible witnesses, or forensic analyses. Instead, they leaned heavily on claims from a fringe group described by University of San Diego’s Carl Luna as the “political equivalent of flat earthers.” Luna called out Bianco for weaponizing baseless fraud allegations as a campaign stunt, questioning his fitness to lead California.

Even Riverside County’s top elections official, Art Tinoco, publicly debunked the group’s claims, calling their data “flawed and incomplete.” Yet Judge Jay Kiel, who Bianco supported for his judicial seat, approved the warrants, enabling this unprecedented ballot seizure.

Legal experts are divided. Paul Pfingst, a former district attorney, argues the affidavits met the probable cause threshold since election officials hadn’t answered questions from activists. But Cristine Soto DeBerry, head of Prosecutors Alliance Action, condemned the casual approach to seizing ballots, warning that elections are “a sacred institution” demanding far more care.

The California Supreme Court swiftly halted Bianco’s investigation following lawsuits from Attorney General Rob Bonta and the UCLA Voting Rights Project. Bonta criticized the sheriff for failing to provide evidence of any crime and accused him of undermining public trust in elections.

Bonta’s office emphasized the importance of proper legal procedures and protecting the integrity of elections, condemning Bianco’s use of criminal investigative tools for what looks like a partisan fishing expedition.

This case exposes a dangerous pattern: elected officials exploiting unfounded voter fraud claims to sow doubt and disrupt democratic processes. Bianco’s raid is less about securing election integrity and more about political grandstanding, threatening the foundations of California’s democracy.