Overview
- Bianco said at a Friday news conference that he seized about 1,000 boxes to hand count ballots, and a Riverside Superior Court judge has since appointed a special master to oversee any tally.
- Bianco’s probe stems from a volunteer group’s claim of a 45,000‑vote gap, which county election officials say reflects a misunderstanding of raw data, noting a verified variance of 103 votes.
- Attorney General Rob Bonta has urged a pause, requested case files, and questioned probable cause for the warrants, while critics including former state GOP official Jon Fleischman call the move political.
- Election‑security experts warn that removing ballots from election officials breaks the chain of custody and say law enforcement without election‑administration expertise should not validate results.
- Proposition 50, a statewide redistricting measure, passed easily across California, so any Riverside review would not change the outcome, and state law schedules these ballots for destruction in May, adding time pressure.