Riverside County Sheriff Launches Probe Into 2025 Election 'Irregularities'

Bianco's investigation raises concerns about election integrity as he runs for California governor.

Published on Mar. 10, 2026

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Less than four months before he appears as a Republican candidate for governor on tens of millions of ballots mailed to California voters, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco initiated an investigation into alleged voting 'irregularities' in his inland county. The unusual probe, which reportedly involved the seizure of ballots, raises questions about Bianco's position on election integrity at a moment the state he seeks to run and the Trump administration are diametrically opposed about what constitutes a fair election.

Why it matters

Bianco's investigation into unsubstantiated claims of election fraud comes as he mounts a gubernatorial bid, raising concerns about how he would approach election integrity issues if elected. The probe also highlights the broader partisan divide over voting rights and election security in California and across the country.

The details

A group called the Riverside Election Integrity Team has been pushing the unproven narrative that local election results in November 2025 were inflated by more than 45,000 excess votes. However, local election officials have characterized the group's assessment as provably false, based on a misreading of raw, preliminary ballot counts. Despite this, Bianco's department has reportedly seized ballots as part of an investigation into the alleged irregularities.

  • In November 2023, Bianco's office investigated claims of voter fraud.
  • On February 10, 2026, Riverside County Registrar of Voters Art Tinoco presented data showing a discrepancy of only 103 ballots, well below the state's 2% margin of error.
  • On February 24, 2026, Shasta County Registrar of Voters Clint Curtis revealed that a Riverside County sheriff's employee was 'confiscating all of the records in Riverside'.
  • On February 25, 2026, the Riverside Record reported on the investigation by Bianco's office.

The players

Chad Bianco

The Republican sheriff of Riverside County who is running for California governor.

Art Tinoco

The Riverside County Registrar of Voters who presented data showing a discrepancy of only 103 ballots in the 2025 election.

Shirley N. Weber

The California Secretary of State who backed up county election officials' assessment and expressed concern about Bianco's investigation.

Riverside Election Integrity Team

A group pushing the unproven narrative of 45,000 excess votes in the 2025 election.

Clint Curtis

The Shasta County Registrar of Voters who revealed that a Riverside County sheriff's employee was 'confiscating all of the records in Riverside'.

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What they’re saying

“Their allegations and the apparent grounds for seizure of election materials by the sheriff's office fall well outside of the law. The sheriff's office seizure is precisely the type of conduct that erodes confidence in our elections.”

— Shirley N. Weber, California Secretary of State (sfchronicle.com)

“We are doing an amazing job in Riverside County. Don't know what else we could be doing different.”

— Art Tinoco, Riverside County Registrar of Voters (sfchronicle.com)

What’s next

The judge in the case will decide on Tuesday whether or not to allow Bianco to continue the investigation and seize additional election materials.

The takeaway

Bianco's investigation into unsubstantiated claims of election fraud raises concerns about how he would approach election integrity issues if elected governor, particularly given the broader partisan divide over voting rights and election security in California and across the country.