Supreme Court of California
California's highest court; ordered Riverside County to return seized ballots in 2026.
On 24 September 2026 California's highest court ruled 7-0 that the Riverside County sheriff had no right to hold about 650,000 Proposition 50 ballots, and ordered them back to the registrar six weeks before the first House elections on the new map.
Last refreshed: 1 October 2026
Timeline for Supreme Court of California
Ordered the return of about 650,000 ballots
US Midterms 2026: Bianco must hand back 650,000 ballotsMentioned in: Virginia map vote passes, then voided
US Midterms 2026Background
the Supreme Court of California sits in San Francisco with a bench of seven justices led by Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero. It reviews decisions of the state's Courts of Appeal, hears every death-penalty appeal automatically and oversees discipline of judges and lawyers.
Its September 2026 rulings are now the leading state authority on WHO may hold cast ballots. Writing for a unanimous court in Cervantes v. Bianco, Guerrero held that voted ballots may "in no event" leave the elections official's custody, criminal inquiry or not. In the companion case, Bonta v. Bianco, the justices found that the attorney general acted lawfully when he told Sheriff Chad Bianco to pause his investigation. Bianco said he would take the dispute to the federal courts.
The ballots at issue came from the 4 November 2025 special election that adopted the Legislature's congressional map. the Court's reading of the Elections Code therefore governs any attempt by a sheriff or prosecutor to seize ballots after a disputed count, and it confirms the attorney general's power to stop a local police inquiry into an election.