Becerra says Bianco violated the law by breaking the ballots' chain of custody
Xavier BecerraDemocratic candidate for governor of California and an attorney of record for the petitioning voters in Cervantes v. Bianco
Asked at a televised debate whether Sheriff Bianco committed a crime, Xavier Becerra said Bianco "violated the law" by not following the chain-of-custody requirement for ballots, that he "cannot claim under cover of an investigation" the right to take them, and that this is why he and others were suing.
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 sheriff is supposed to enforce the law. In this case, Sheriff Bianco violated the law. There are ways that you treat ballots. You have to maintain the integrity of every ballot so you know, I know, we all know, that no one will tamper with your ballot. There is a chain of custody requirement that the law says you have to follow in order to let that ballot move anywhere. … He cannot claim under cover of an investigation that he has the right to take these ballots and break that chain of custody. That's against the law. That's why we're suing, and that's why he's going to lose in the Supreme Court.”
Original text
Other statements by Xavier Becerra in this case
- Xavier Becerra opposes Bianco's ballot seizureLater: Condemned
Where this statement fits
Was Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco's seizure of about 650,000 ballots lawful?
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco's department obtained search warrants in February and March 2026 and, on February 26, seized about 650,000 ballots from the November 2025 Proposition 50 special election from the county registrar of voters. Bianco said he was investigating a discrepancy of 45,896 ballots reported by a citizens' group; Registrar Art Tinoco said the reported gap reflected a misreading of preliminary records and that the actual variance was 103 ballots. Attorney General Rob Bonta directed Bianco on February 26 to preserve the materials and pause the investigation, and sued after Bianco said on March 20 that it would continue despite the Attorney General's attempts to stop it. On September 24, 2026, the California Supreme Court unanimously held in Cervantes v. Bianco that the seizure violated Elections Code section 15551(d) and ordered the ballots returned, and held in Bonta v. Bianco that the Attorney General may give a sheriff binding directions about an investigation. Bianco says the investigation was lawful and that he disagrees with the rulings, but has said he will obey the court's writs; the court did not resolve whether the claimed discrepancy exists.
Source and context
Original text
About this source
CNN's transcript of the televised Democratic and Republican gubernatorial debate. Moderator Kaitlan Collins asked Xavier Becerra and Steve Hilton about Sheriff Chad Bianco's seizure of the Riverside County ballots, and Bianco replied.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
CNN moderator Kaitlan Collins noted that Becerra was part of a lawsuit against Sheriff Bianco over the seizure and asked whether he believed the sheriff had committed a crime.
After the quotation
Bianco replied that none of it was true and that there was absolutely nothing his office did that was illegal. Steve Hilton, asked the same question, declined to weigh in.
How this statement is classified
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. Becerra says the seizure broke the chain of custody the law requires and was against the law, which expressly rejects the conduct.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Chad Bianco
More from this case
Read the full caseOscar Ortiz opposes Bianco's ballot seizure
“political advantage”Read statement
Nathan P. Kempe opposes Bianco's ballot seizure
“reject similar attacks”Read statement
Becki Robinson opposes Bianco's ballot seizure
“ballot is safe and secure”Read statement
Share or embed this statement
The embed keeps its attribution link to The Dispute Index. Credit the image to The Dispute Index and link to the statement page.
Cite this record
- Publisher
- The Dispute Index
- Title
- Becerra says Bianco violated the law by breaking the ballots' chain of custody
- First published
- Last updated
- Permalink
- https://disputeindex.com/events/2423-asked-at-a-televised-debate-whether-sheriff-bianco
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Becerra says Bianco violated the law by breaking the ballots' chain of custody". First published: 2026-09-25. Last updated: 2026-09-25. https://disputeindex.com/events/2423-asked-at-a-televised-debate-whether-sheriff-bianco