Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco has filed a formal claim asking taxpayers to cover his legal bills from four lawsuits tied to his seizure of nearly 650,000 voter ballots in February and March.
Bianco's attorney Bradley Hertz told The Riverside Record the county has 45 days to respond to the claim. Hertz declined to state the exact amount but said it exceeded $35,000, the threshold for an unlimited civil suit. Patch, citing court documents obtained by the Press-Enterprise, reported the claim exceeds $10,000.
If the county rejects the claim, Hertz said Bianco is prepared to file a lawsuit to recoup the costs, according to the Record.
The claim covers legal expenses from lawsuits filed by California Attorney General Rob Bonta and by the UCLA Voting Rights Project on behalf of four Riverside County voters. All four cases arose after Bianco's department seized ballots and election materials from the Riverside County Registrar of Voters as part of an investigation into the November 2025 Proposition 50 special election.
Bianco, then a Republican candidate for governor, launched the investigation based on allegations of a roughly 45,000-vote discrepancy in Riverside County's results. County election officials said the actual discrepancy was 103 ballots, a figure the Riverside Record independently confirmed using California Secretary of State data.
In September, the California Supreme Court unanimously ruled Bianco lacked legal authority to remove the ballots from the registrar's custody, even with court-approved search warrants. The justices ordered him to return the ballots and comply with the attorney general's directives.
The Riverside County Board of Supervisors had already voted 4-1 on April 16 against using taxpayer funds for outside attorneys defending Bianco. Board Chair Karen Spiegel was the lone dissenter.
Bianco's claim argues the county must pay because the lawsuits arose from his official duties. According to the claim document, "the fact that the legality of certain investigative actions was disputed, or that county officials disagreed with those actions, does not establish that claimant acted outside the scope of his employment …"
Supervisor Jose Medina disagreed. He told the Record on Oct. 23 he was not surprised by the filing and expected the county to reject it.
"I've had no discussion with the other supervisors, but I would assume they, like myself, believe that the course of action we took was proper," Medina said.
Riverside County spokesperson Brooke Federico said the county received the claim and would review it to "determine next steps." Bianco had previously said he would use reelection campaign funds to cover costs and sent multiple emails to supporters asking for donations, according to the Record. Patch reported Bianco had not responded to its request for comment. The Record reported the same.
The sources disagree on when the claim was filed. Patch reported Oct. 13; the Record, citing the claim document, reported Oct. 16.
The county's 45-day response window could push a decision into early December.
