California Supreme Court Hears Cases on Ballot Seizure by Sheriff Bianco

The California Supreme Court heard arguments on August 24 and 25 regarding Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco's seizure of more than 650,000 ballots from the Proposition 50 redistricting race.

Bianco claimed his actions were based on suspicions of excess votes, a claim found to be unfounded. His unprecedented ballot seizure sparked national concern about election interference ahead of upcoming midterms.

Two lawsuits challenged Bianco's actions: one by the UCLA Voting Rights Project and another by California Attorney General Rob Bonta. The court's reception to Bianco's defense appeared unfavorable.

Bianco's lawyer, Bradley Hertz, argued legislators intended different rules for election investigations versus formal prosecutions. Justice Goodwin H. Liu called this reasoning "bizarre." Justice Joshua Groban highlighted the risks of allowing ballot seizures before election day, stating, "the sheriff could seize ballots even before election day, right?"

Hertz acknowledged that pre-election ballot seizures would cause "havoc," but suggested courts could permit seizures only after official counts. The court seemed unconvinced by this approach.

In the second lawsuit, Attorney General Bonta invoked a constitutional clause asserting supervisory authority over sheriffs. The court appeared receptive to Bonta's position, though cautious about constitutional clarity on sheriffs’ powers.

Bonta argued Bianco had to cease the ballot seizure, which Bianco did. The court's ruling could redefine the limits of sheriff authority in California and address long-standing debates over their independence.

Bianco's actions and the court cases have drawn attention for their potential to influence election integrity and law enforcement powers statewide.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Dodgers face the Atlanta Braves in an important series impacting postseason positioning. The Dodgers must win at least two of three games to improve their tiebreaker standing against the Braves, who have lost seven of their last 10 games.

Dodgers recently signed outfielder Alek Thomas from Arizona's minor league system to fill in for the injured Andy Pages. Thomas expressed pride in joining the Dodgers despite past rivalries, saying, "It’s funny, because they always hated me whenever I came out there in center field. I was, like, ‘Come on, guys, I’m Mexican too. You don’t have to yell at me; like, we’re on the same side here.’"

Several Dodgers players are recovering from injuries, with some expected back soon, including Edwin Díaz and Shohei Ohtani.