Sheriff Seizes Ballots, Launches Election Probe

0:00On March 23rd, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a Republican running for California governor, has seized over 650,000 ballots. From last year's election, he's launching an investigation into claims of unlawful votes tied to Proposition 50, the measure that redrew congressional districts to counter, Garymandering efforts in other states. The probe stems from concerns raised by a local group called the Riverside Election Integrity Team. They pointed to a supposed gap of nearly 46,000 votes between hand-counted records and the official tally that helped pass the Proposition, state election officials, and Democratic Attorney General, Rob Bonta, have rejected the allegations outright. They note the actual difference between machine counts and final results was just 103 votes, with no signs of widespread issues. Last month, Bianco's team got the ballots through search warrants, and a Riverside Superior Court judge named a special master to oversee a physical, recounting compare it to recorded

1:02totals. Meanwhile, Bonta has warned this, unusual move risks eroding trust and elections, especially as Bianco campaigns in California's top two primary pact. With Democrats and others, the situation underscores ongoing partisan battles over voting integrity in the state.