California Governor Signs Law Restricting Police Seizure of Ballots After Riverside Sheriff's Actions

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 73 on May 27, 2026, establishing strict legal boundaries for law enforcement involvement in the voting process. The legislation comes amid escalating tensions between state officials and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, who recently seized 650,000 ballots as part of an investigation launched after claims of election fraud were debunked.

Authored by Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes and Senator Thomas Umberg, the new law aims to insulate election workers and infrastructure from localized political pressure and unauthorized police actions. The measure explicitly bars individuals from providing law enforcement agents, including federal officers, with unauthorized access to voter registration rolls, lists, or certified voting machinery.

Under the new statute, police cannot seize or disrupt these systems without a direct court order or an active investigation into specific violations of the state election code. Peace officers are also prohibited from interfering with election administration or disrupting election staff, except during immediate public safety emergencies.

The law mandates that the California Department of Justice issue formal guidance to county election officials on how to properly handle law enforcement requests for access to areas where ballots are cast, processed, or stored. To deter unauthorized interference, the bill establishes harsh statutory penalties: knowingly taking a package of voted ballots from the custody of election officials is now a crime punishable by up to three years in prison, a $1,000 fine, or both.

The legislative push follows a highly unusual conflict in Riverside County, where Sheriff Chad Bianco seized 650,000 cast and counted ballots alongside a local organization called the Riverside Election Integrity Team, which maintains unproven claims of widespread local voter fraud. Despite an order from the California State Supreme Court to pause the investigation, as well as a directive from Attorney General Rob Bonta, Bianco subsequently seized an additional 426 boxes of ballots.

Bianco, a candidate in the upcoming gubernatorial primary, aligns with the "constitutional sheriff" movement, which asserts that county sheriffs possess supreme local authority independent of state oversight. In a disturbing statement, Bianco said he would seize ballots again if he deemed it necessary.

State officials also framed the legislation as a defense against broader national efforts to challenge democratic norms, pointing to past efforts by Donald Trump and his political allies to challenge election results. Since 2019, California has continuously expanded its voting framework through measures like universal vote-by-mail and enhanced cybersecurity defenses for local precincts.

State leaders stated that SB 73 provides necessary statutory guardrails to maintain the independence of local registrars during high-stakes election cycles.