Riverside County plans to destroy ballots from the November 2025 special statewide election that Sheriff Chad Bianco's office seized in February.
The ballots were at the center of a Riverside County Sheriff's Office investigation into alleged election irregularities. County Executive Officer Jeff Van Wagenen said the state Department of Justice completed its review of the investigation and has no objections to the county disposing of the ballots under state law, The Riverside Record reported. The Secretary of State's Office also confirmed the ballots must be destroyed under California Elections Code, Van Wagenen said.
The destruction was scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 13, according to a campaign email Bianco sent Monday, Oct. 12.
"Tomorrow, the Riverside County Registrar of Voters will destroy all ballots that were subject to our warranted investigation into the Prop 50 election," Bianco wrote. "You read that correctly."
Bianco accused the attorney general of wanting to bury trust in elections and evidence of a crime. The email also solicited donations for his 2028 campaign fund, which he has said he is using to cover attorney costs after the Riverside County Board of Supervisors voted against paying for his legal representation with taxpayer dollars.
The dispute traces to the November 2025 special statewide election. A group called the Riverside Election Integrity Team alleged a discrepancy between the number of ballots cast and the number counted. Sheriff's deputies seized 12 pallets containing 1,086 boxes of ballots on Feb. 9 and 11 pallets containing 426 boxes of election-related materials on Feb. 23, according to court filings reported by The Riverside Record.
The California Supreme Court ruled the seizure was unlawful, The Riverside Record reported. In Cervantes v. Bianco, the court found the sheriff violated California Elections Code, which requires ballots to remain in the custody of elections officials even during a criminal investigation. In a companion case, Bonta v. Bianco, the court upheld Attorney General Rob Bonta's authority to direct Bianco to pause the investigation and preserve seized material.
The sheriff's office then returned the ballots to the registrar.
The scheduled destruction comes as Registrar of Voters Art Tinoco's office prepares for the Tuesday, Nov. 3, general election. The registrar's office has already sent 1.4 million vote-by-mail ballots to voters across Riverside County, according to a county press release. Early voting began Oct. 5 at the registrar's office at 2720 Gateway Drive in Riverside.
Van Wagenen said in a statement that the county has confidence in Tinoco and the registrar's staff as they prepare for the Nov. 3 election. The Riverside Record reported that Tinoco was unavailable for interviews because he was focused on general election preparations.
Completed ballots for the Nov. 3 election must be received at the registrar's office or any vote center by 8 p.m. on Election Day, or postmarked by Election Day and received by Nov. 10. The registrar's office can be reached at (951) 486-7200 or at voteinfo.net.
