California’s Supreme Court on Thursday ordered Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco to return roughly 650,000 ballots seized during an investigation into a 2025 special election, ruling unanimously that he had unlawfully taken custody of them. In a separate unanimous decision, the justices upheld Attorney General Rob Bonta’s authority to exercise oversight over county sheriffs. Bonta had sued to stop Bianco’s investigation after the sheriff continued despite warnings from the attorney general. The dispute began after a local watchdog group alleged discrepancies in the tally for a special election on a redistricting ballot measure. Bianco, a Republican who is running for governor, seized the ballots as part of an inquiry into those claims. In a concurring opinion, Justice Goodwin Liu said elections must be conducted according to law and described the case as involving “the most precious documents of the citizenry in a democracy: their votes.” Bianco said he would comply with the court orders but criticized the decisions as an expansion of state power over local law enforcement. In a fundraising email, he argued that the attorney general now had “unchecked power” over investigations and said local law enforcement should answer to the people who elected its officials. The case drew broader political attention as Democrats raised concerns about efforts to challenge or interfere with election administration ahead of the 2026 election. Bonta said his office was preparing for a range of possible threats, including federal involvement at polling places. “Whether it’s a sheriff in Riverside or the president of the United States, we won’t let anyone take away Californians’ voice in our democracy,” he said. Gov. Gavin Newsom said the rulings affirmed the state’s commitment to defending elections. Last week, he signed legislation making it a felony to seize election materials before results are certified or to interfere with mail-ballot delivery.