State Ag Takes Riverside County Sheriff To Court Over Seized Ballots

The feud betwixt California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco has escalated aft Bonta asked a tribunal to extremity Bianco’s investigation into alleged predetermination fraud.

In a 70-page petition revenge pinch nan Fourth Appellate District Monday, Bonta wrote that “the Sheriff’s misguided investigation threatens to sow distrust and jeopardize nationalist confidence” successful upcoming elections. The investigation, which he besides called “sweeping and unprecedented,” is an maltreatment of nan criminal process, he wrote.

Bianco, who is simply a starring Republican campaigner for governor, past period seized much than 650,000 ballots formed successful Riverside County successful nan November predetermination for Proposition 50, which temporarily redrew nan state’s legislature districts to favour Democrats.

The sheriff has said that his investigators are looking into allegations by a section citizens group that “did their ain audit” and recovered that nan county’s tally was falsely inflated by much than 45,000 votes — a declare that section predetermination officials person emphatically rejected.

Bianco has described his probe arsenic a “fact-finding mission” to find if votes were fraudulently counted. He has accused nan lawyer general, a Democrat, of improperly interfering pinch what he says is simply a lawful criminal investigation.

In Riverside County, nan proposition passed by much than 82,000 votes. Statewide, it passed pinch astir 64% of nan ballot and a separator of much than 3.3 cardinal ballots.

“Well, well, well, nan governmental corruption successful California conscionable gets bigger and bigger,” Bianco said successful a societal media video Monday nighttime successful consequence to Bonta’s petition.

“Why successful nan world would Rob Bonta want that count stopped unless he was acrophobic of what that count would uncover?” he added. “We person an highly politically biased appeals court, truthful this is going to beryllium interesting.”

Political observers person said that Bianco, an outspoken protagonist of President Trump, appears to beryllium vying for attraction from Trump, who has called connected nan national authorities to “nationalize” state-run elections, remains fixated connected his 2020 predetermination nonaccomplishment and has falsely claimed wide fraud.

Kim Nalder, a governmental subject professor and head of nan Project for an Informed Electorate astatine Sacramento State, said that Bianco’s investigation appears to beryllium “an electoral ploy.”

“At this shape successful nan election, astir voters haven’t really tuned into nan gubernatorial race, and location are a ton of candidates,” she said. “People who don’t cognize his inheritance will cognize now. This is clear signaling.”

The sheriff has denied nan probe has thing to do pinch his campaign.

A poll released past week by UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies and co-sponsored by The Times showed Bianco and blimpish commentator Steve Hilton starring nan crowded section of gubernatorial candidates by slim margins, pinch nan Democratic ballot divided among aggregate candidates successful a left-leaning state.

Bonta’s agency said successful a connection Monday evening that it was asking nan tribunal to region nan investigation “while we activity to understand its basis.”

Bonta’s petition revealed that — successful summation to warrants issued connected Feb. 9 and 23 — nan sheriff obtained a 3rd warrant from nan Riverside County Superior Court connected March 19 to restart a paused recount of nan ballots. The warrants now are nether seal.

Bonta’s agency called nan warrants and nan affidavits supporting them legally deficient because “the Sheriff has not identified immoderate peculiar crime that whitethorn person been committed by anyone — a basal predicate to get a criminal hunt warrant.”
Bonta had earlier questioned whether Bianco had concealed important accusation from nan magistrate judge who approved nan warrants.

In his petition, Bonta wrote that nan sheriff’s section had planned to delegate “12 labor moving 4 days a week, 5 to 7 hours each day” to count nan votes.

David Becker, executive head of nan Center for Election Innovation & Research and a erstwhile elder proceedings lawyer overseeing voting enforcement for nan Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, agreed pinch Bonta’s appraisal that nan sheriff’s probe is simply a legally deficient “fishing expedition.” He questioned really Bianco sewage a judge to motion disconnected connected 3 warrants.

“You can’t usage a warrant arsenic a PR tool, arsenic thing to thief your governmental campaign,” Becker said. “You person to meet definite standards successful bid to get a warrant, because a warrant is extraordinary. A warrant is saying we judge location is probable origin to prehend evidence, and we request it now.”

Bianco said successful a news convention Friday that a Riverside County Superior Court judge had ordered nan assignment of a typical maestro to oversee nan count. His investigators had already begun counting, but nan tally would commencement complete nether nan court’s guidance, Bianco said.

“This isn’t astir counting yes and nary votes,” Bianco said successful his societal media video Monday. “This is simply counting nan full ballots and comparing that full pinch nan number of votes. ... Plain and simple. Common sense.”