In Court Filing, Bianco Says Election Investigation Paused Pending Legal Resolution

Editor’s note: All legal documents pertaining to this case obtained by The Riverside Record can be accessed here. All of The Riverside Record’s reporting about Sheriff Chad Bianco’s election investigation can be found here.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office’s (RSO) investigation into what Sheriff Chad Bianco has described as potential fraud in the November 2025 special statewide election is on hold, according to a Monday filing.

“Ultimately, this investigation will not proceed until the court addresses the jurisdictional rights and responsibilities of the courts, the attorney general and the sheriff,” the filing said. “This decision by the sheriff is largely because the attorney general demanded that the investigation be ‘paused’ along with his request in legal proceedings that the seized evidence be returned to the registrar of voters, resulting in an ‘unseemly conflict’ between the judicial system and the executive branch.”

Bianco, who is running for governor, did not immediately return a request for comment about the latest developments related to the investigation, first reported by The Riverside Record.

According to Robert Tyler, Bianco’s attorney, the sheriff sought the March 19 warrant in an attempt to “navigat[e] the circumstances” of what he argued were conflicting orders from Attorney General Rob Bonta and the court.

“Faced with the jurisdictional questions, the sheriff’s department filed a new warrant on March 19, 2026, for the appointment of a special master,” the filing said. “Judge [Jay] Kiel was informed of the conflicting demands by the attorney general prior to his order for the appointment of a special master.”

After obtaining the warrant, the sheriff’s office immediately began reaching out to people qualified to serve as special masters to oversee the count but, because it was a volunteer position, none of the identified attorneys agreed, according to the filing.

On March 26, the day Bonta filed a petition with the Riverside County Superior Court to halt the investigation, the filing said the sheriff’s office returned to Kiel to tell him they were unsuccessful in securing a special master to oversee the recounting of ballots. However, Kiel declined to provide the department with further direction until Bonta’s petition was addressed.

The declaration was filed as part of Tyler’s opposition to Bonta’s request that the Riverside County Superior Court accelerate the timeline for the case due to its urgent nature. 

According to Tyler, there was no need to expedite the case because the sheriff’s department was “not counting ballots and has no intention of counting the ballots unless the courts otherwise permit.”

“The sheriff has ceased the investigation pending resolution of this case,” the filing said. “Furthermore, the evidence seized is in the sheriff’s department’s protective custody.”

Tyler also said his office was assisting RSO in obtaining and sending over all of the requested information to the California Department of Justice [DOJ] and that Bianco would continue to “act in good faith with the constitutional requirement that the sheriff provide information to the attorney general.”

The DOJ, in its request for an expedited briefing schedule, said it was necessary due to Bianco’s ongoing failure to comply with Bonta’s orders, despite statements to the contrary. Judge Dorothy McLaughlin set a date of April 2 for the hearing on the DOJ’s request.

McLaughlin also approved, without a hearing, the unopposed motion to seal documents previously ordered sealed by Kiel, which allows the DOJ to continue publicly submitting redacted documents. 

The California Supreme Court, also on Monday, set an expedited briefing timeline for the DOJ’s petition, with a response due April 1 from Bianco and a reply due April 3 from the DOJ.