California Governor Gavin Newsom Credit: Office of the Governor
What you need to know: After the 2025 special election for Proposition 50, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco illegally seized hundreds of thousands of ballots in an attempt to claim and prove voter fraud (no evidence was ever provided). California leaders took him to court to hold him accountable and the Governor signed new laws preventing a similar future attack on democracy.
September 24, 2026 - SACRAMENTO – 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, determining: “that the seizure of the ballots was unlawful.”
“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.”
Governor Gavin Newsom
This ruling (Cervantes v. Bianco 9/24/26 SC) comes as the Governor signed a 13-bill election protection package last week — building on his extensive record defending democracy — and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the Trump administration’s attempts to weaponize the U.S. Postal Service with regards to the vote-by-mail process.
Source: Office of the Governor
