Chad Dunn is a lawyer, UCLA law lecturer and co-founder and legal director of the UCLA Voting Rights Project. His work includes redistricting, ballot access and election law. He directs clinical training for voting-rights and election-law practitioners at UCLA. The Voting Rights Project brings together UCLA's law school, Luskin School and social sciences division. He co-founded the law firm Brazil & Dunn. He holds a government degree from the University of Texas at Austin and a law degree from South Texas College of Law.
Role at the time: Legal director, UCLA Voting Rights Project
Condemned
Statement summary
Chad Dunn rejected the seizure's legal basis, saying law enforcement must follow the statutory protections for voters' ballots.
“applies to everyone”
Read the official statement (opens in a new tab)UCLA Voting Rights Project statements on the Riverside ballot ruling · UCLA Voting Rights ProjectDunn quotation; Clarissa Cervantes quotation; Robinson quotation; Kempe quotation; Ortiz quotation; Becerra quotation
Why we used this label
Chad Dunn argues against Bianco's ballot seizure. Dunn said law enforcement had to comply with protections governing election materials.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco seized about 650,000 ballots in early 2026 under search warrants, citing a disputed vote discrepancy. The California Supreme Court held the seizure unlawful; Bianco says his investigation was lawful and disagrees with the ruling.
