Sheriff Chad Bianco (R), one of the Republicans running in the California gubernatorial race, paused his investigation into election fraud allegations on Monday, as he faces mounting legal challenges, including from California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D).
Bianco, of Riverside, Calif., told The Los Angeles Times that his investigation was put "on hold ... because of the politically motivated lawsuits and court filings."
The sheriff's employees seized more than 650,000 ballots cast in Riverside County during November's special election on redistricting. Bianco has argued the probe is legal and was approved by a Riverside County judge.
County elections officials have rejected claims from a local citizens group that the county's tally was inflated by more than 45,000 votes. Bonta and Riverside County Board of Supervisors registrar of voters Art Tinoco, however, said the difference was about 100 votes.
"The investigation simply sought to determine the validity of the allegations of possible election fraud, the exact same way every investigation is conducted," Bianco said in a video posted to Instagram Saturday. "We are counting ballots, not yes or no votes."
The sheriff also asked why anyone would not want there to be an investigation, accusing the media, "special interest activists, disingenuous politicians and keyboard warriors" of "misrepresenting facts to influence public opinion in their favor."
Bonta and the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Voting Rights Project filed separate petitions challenging the ballot probe. The state attorney general argued that Bianco did not identify any specific crime in the warrants that justified obtaining the ballots. His office previously told the sheriff to stop the investigation.
The Voting Rights Project, an interdisciplinary academic research center, said in its petition that the ballots must stay with the Riverside County Registrar of Voters in compliance with state law.
"Every day that Bianco is permitted to handle election materials, outside the view of the public and in violation of law, California voters suffer irreparable harm," the petition reads.
Sonni Waknin, a senior voting rights attorney with the center, echoed this in a statement, saying the "harm is ongoing, and waiting for some other process to unfold would only deepen the damage to public confidence in the system."
"Our election law is clear that voted ballots are to remain in the custody of election officials, and nothing the sheriff has presented changes that basic rule," Waknin continued. "The Court should issue a stay now, return lawful custody where it belongs, and prevent any further interference with the handling of election materials."
Bianco initially seized 1,000 boxes of election materials in February to investigate the local citizens group's complaint. The Board of Supervisors determined that the complaint was unfounded.