RIVERSIDE, Calif - Riverside County sheriff and California gubernatorial candidate Chad Bianco has bolstered his national name ID after he seized over 650,000 county ballots cast in the 2025 special election for Proposition 50.

Proposition 50 was a statewide ballot measure approved by nearly 65% of California voters that suspended an independent congressional map and replaced it with a map drawn by the state legislature’s Democratic majority.

Bianco’s actions in Riverside are part of an investigation he launched after a group of county residents that call themselves the Riverside Election Integrity Team claimed it found roughly 45,000 excess votes in the election.

This figure has been disputed by Riverside Registrar of Voters Art Tinoco. Tinoco stated in a presentation before the county board of supervisors that the discrepancy between ballots cast and ballots counted barely exceeded 100.

Bianco says his office will hand count the seized ballots “to prove the election is accurate." He also noted during a press conference that his office has been investigating election fraud claims since 2022.

"We have found isolated instances of ballot fraud and voting for people who are dead or voting for people who don't live at the [stated] location. We have referred cases to the district attorney's office," he said.

He added that his department has "not found any mass fraud in Riverside County."

Democratic state Attorney General Rob Bonta says Bianco’s current investigation “appears not to be based on facts or evidence but on unfounded allegations that have already been refuted by the Riverside Registrar of Voters.”

He has called on Bianco to pause the investigation.

California Secretary of State Shirley Weber, also a Democrat, questioned Bianco’s authority. She said investigations “into election processes must be conducted by those with the appropriate legal authority and subject matter expertise.”

Bianco and US Rep. Eric Swalwell, another gubernatorial candidate, have clashed on X. Swalwell asserted in a tweet that “the only way MAGA knows how to win is by cheating.” Bianco replied that Bonta was the one trying to block an investigation.

Regardless of what happens next, this has made national headlines. Fox News, CNN, New York Times, NBC News, The Guardian, The Daily Beast, and more have all posted stories about a Republican sheriff seizing ballots in California.

And now the nation is talking about Bianco at a time when election integrity is a hot-button issue.

The FBI under the Trump administration recently seized ballots in Fulton County, Georgia, pertaining to the 2020 presidential election. It has also subpoenaed election records from Maricopa County, Arizona.

The US Department of Justice demanded at least 47 states hand over their voter rolls. Most states have refused, resulting in several lawsuits filed by the DOJ. Some of these cases have been dismissed in California, Michigan, and Oregon. 

Meanwhile, President Trump claims elections in California are rigged, and has called for national voter ID, proof of citizenship requirements, and the end to mail-in voting – among other things that can be found in the federal SAVE America Act. 

Bianco seizing more than half a million ballots in Riverside County adds more gasoline to the heated rhetoric between the two major parties over this issue, which boils down to Republicans and Democrats accusing each other of cheating.

Democrats say Republicans are using unsubstantiated claims of fraud to justify policies that suppress the vote. Republicans say Democrats are trying to sweep voter fraud under the rug for their own gain.

One side says investigations like Bianco’s are meant to sow distrust in the process, while the other side asks, what’s the harm in investigating claims of fraud in elections?

They assert that the investigation would put voters at ease and that the worst possible outcome is that the claims of fraud and/or mismanagement are true.

"The outrage that an investigation was happening was extremely concerning to me, especially coming from someone who claims to be a law enforcement officer that is [...] an embarrassment to law enforcement," Bianco specifically said of Bonta.

Critics have also raised concerns over the timing of Bianco’s investigation. They have pointed out that he is a candidate for statewide office (governor) who has now seized hundreds of thousands of ballots in a recent statewide election.

Bianco pushed back on the idea that there is any connection between this investigation and his gubernatorial campaign.

"I am the sheriff of Riverside County. I couldn't care less what I am doing in another election, and this has nothing to do with it," he said. "I have a duty to make sure we investigate crime in Riverside County or alleged crimes."

Some polls, like one recently conducted by the Independent Voter Project, show Bianco as the frontrunner in the nonpartisan gubernatorial primary. Others show fellow Republican Steve Hilton in the top spot.

While it may seem odd to think that two Republicans are leading a California primary, a crowded Democratic field is splitting their party's support base. It has made it difficult for a single Democrat to break out.

A recent Emerson University poll shows Swalwell may be gaining momentum, but the lead isn't consistent across polling right now.

Name ID will make a difference in this election, and while the debate over Bianco’s investigation will continue, one thing is certain: With only a few months remaining until the June 2 primary, there are a lot more people who now know his name.