WASHINGTON – A legal battle is playing out in California between Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and Democrats who say the Republican gubernatorial candidate’s seizure of more than 650,000 ballots is a political stunt that undermines public trust in voting.
Bianco, a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump denies that. He says he’s just doing his job in investigating allegations brought by a conservative citizen group in Riverside County in a California November 2025 special election.
Voting rights experts across the political spectrum say the case could have nationwide implications as other Trump supporters and conservative activists push similar – and largely unfounded – accusations of electoral irregularities in an effort to get law enforcement to investigate them.
In an exclusive March 31 interview with USA TODAY, Bianco said the publicity surrounding his investigation has prompted elections and law enforcement officials – and conservative groups – to contact his office to see how they can launch similar probes.
“There are a lot of people reaching out to us from other states, from other counties than Riverside saying the same thing's happening here,” Bianco said. “We have former poll workers saying that there is massive fraud going on … but nobody is looking into it.”
