California Supreme Court rules sheriff who ran for governor must
Constitutional questions test judicial philosophy as Americans debate the role of unelected judges.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco took 650,000 ballots out of an election office. The California Supreme Court just told him to give them back. There is no version of this story where he comes out looking like the good guy.
New Republican Times Editorial Board
The California Supreme Court ruled Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, former California gubernatorial candidate, must return approximately 650,000 ballots he seized earlier this year. The court ruled that Bianco’s seizure was “unlawful” as California law dictates that "'[i]n no event' shall voted ballots be 'taken from the custody of the elections official.'" “If election misconduct
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New Republican Times Editorial Board
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco took 650,000 ballots out of an election office. The California Supreme Court just told him to give them back. There is no version of this story where he comes out looking like the good guy. He ran for governor as the law and order candidate, then decided the rules didn't apply to him. This is not how you fight election fraud.
California's vote-by-mail system invites plenty of distrust. The state has done little to reassure anyone that its elections are clean. But the answer to that distrust isn't grabbing a third of a million ballots without a court order. A badge doesn't override the law. If Bianco had real evidence of misconduct, the play was to show it to a judge and get authorization. Instead, he made it look like a political stunt.
He gave California's establishment exactly what it wanted. Every Democrat in the state can now point to him and say "this is what election integrity really means." That's not holding anyone accountable. It's handing the other side a weapon, and it deserves every bit of skepticism.
We should want honest elections. We should also want officials who obey the law while pursuing them. Bianco did neither, and the court was right to slap him down.
Commentary written with AI assistance by the New Republican Times Editorial Board.