Sheriff Bianco's Ballot Probe in Riverside County

On March 22nd, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, who's running for California Governor,

has taken control of more than half a million ballots from a special election last November.

He's looking into what he calls a discrepancy between handwritten logs and the official vote totals

reported to the state. The election was about redrawn congressional district lines and it passed

by a margin of more than 80,000 votes in the county of two. Million 500,000 people. Bianco, a Republican,

described the move as a straightforward, fact-finding effort to physically recount the ballots

and match them against the reported numbers. This comes amid California's top two primary system

for Governor and June, where leading Democrats worry their crowded field could split votes and let.

Republicans like Bianco advanced to the fall ballot. County election officials strongly dispute

Bianco's claims about any issues. California Attorney General Rob Bonza has criticized the

sheriff's actions as unprecedented and aimed at undermining trust in elections. Bonza sent multiple

letters warning that Bianco's team lacks the expertise for a proper recount. Back in February,

Bianco got a warrant to seize nearly 1,000 boxes of ballots and materials from the elections

office after a citizen group, flagged the supposed mismatch. The physical count began but paused,

and now it's set to restart under a judge appointed special master for oversight. As this probe moves

forward in Riverside County, it highlights ongoing tensions over election integrity in a state

where Democrats hold a strong edge, with both sides digging in on their positions.