Weber tells the court the sheriff violated the ballot-custody mandate
California Secretary of State and real party in interest in Cervantes v. Bianco (through counsel)
“In the Secretary of State’s view, the legally required and proper course is an order directing Sheriff Bianco and his office to immediately return the seized ballots and election materials to the Riverside County Registrar of Voters. … Sheriff Bianco violated Section 15551’s clear mandate when he removed voted ballots from the custody of the Riverside County Registrar of Voters. For that reason alone, the Court should issue an order compelling the return of those ballots and related materials to the proper custodian dictated by the Elections Code.”
Source and context
Original text
About this source
The Secretary of State's brief filed in the California Supreme Court, stating her position that the seized ballots and election materials should be returned to the Riverside County Registrar of Voters.
Before the quotation
The voters' petition named the Secretary of State as a real party in interest under Elections Code section 13314, and her brief addressed the relief requested.
After the quotation
The brief added that Senate Bill 73, enacted after the seizure, reaffirmed the custody mandate and added civil and criminal penalties for taking ballots from an elections official's custody.
How this statement is classified
Responding to: Elections Code section 15551(d) requires that voted ballots never be taken from the elections official's custody, so Sheriff Bianco violated it when he removed the Riverside County ballots from the Registrar of Voters, even under a search warrant.
The label describes this statement’s response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is the sheriff's seizure and handling of the ballots. Weber says Bianco violated the Elections Code's custody mandate and asks the court to compel the ballots' return, which expressly rejects the seizure as unlawful.
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Was Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco's seizure of about 650,000 ballots lawful?
Explore the case context, sources and public responses.
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Read the full caseCampaign Legal Center
“Sheriff Bianco’s illegal seizure of ballots is a dangerous escalation and blatantly unlawful intrusion by law enforcement … In Riverside County and a growing number of localities across the country, actions like this risk disrupting critical chain of custody procedures, endangering sensitive voter data, sidestepping recount and contest procedures, and amplifying baseless claims, ultimately undermining the freedom to vote.”Read statement
“Governor Gavin Newsom today released the following statement in response to the California Supreme Court ruling Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco illegally seized hundreds of thousands of ballots from last year’s special election … Today’s ruling affirms that in California we will defend democracy — using every branch of government. And the new laws I signed just last week add new protections so attacks like this cannot happen again. People deserve to know their ballot is counted and secure, and in California we will do everything we can to protect that constitutional right — this year, and beyond.”Read statement
“Election fraud can and should be investigated. But misuse of criminal investigative tools — without any evidence that a crime was committed — needlessly undermines trust in our elections system and in law enforcement. After the Sheriff took the extraordinary step of obtaining warrants to seize control over voted ballots, I made a modest request to him: pause your investigation, preserve all evidence, and provide the information needed for my office to review the allegations. Instead, Sheriff Bianco pressed forward with the seizure of hundreds of thousands of ballots. The Court has now made clear that this kind of defiance cannot stand, that the Attorney General has the authority to intervene when sheriffs take improper action, and that voted ballots belong in the custody of elections officials.”Read statement