Panic Move Fails—Court Slaps Down Dem AG Bid to Block Recount of Seized Ballots Amid 45K Vote Discrepancy – RedState
A California Court of Appeal has denied Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta’s emergency effort to shut down Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco’s ongoing recount of roughly 650,000 seized ballots.
Bonta had raced to the 4th District Court of Appeal earlier this week in a frantic bid to block Bianco’s court-authorized investigation into a glaring 45,896-vote discrepancy in the November 2025 special election on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Proposition 50 redistricting scheme.
Prop 50 allows the state legislature to, in short, redraw congressional maps to favor Democrats until the 2030 census.
According to county records reviewed during the sheriff’s probe, only 611,428 ballots were actually cast in the special election in Riverside County, yet officials certified a staggering 657,322 votes — creating a massive, glaring, and questionable gap.
Bonta has repeatedly attempted to intimidate and derail the independent investigation into whether Newsom’s redistricting power grab was passed through specious means. Bianco, a leading 2026 Republican gubernatorial candidate in California, reported that the AG had taken the intimidation tactic to the courts.
“Our embarrassment to law enforcement, Attorney General Rob Bonta, just filed an emergency writ with the court of appeals to stop ballots from being counted in Riverside County,” Bianco explained. “Why in the world would Rob Bonta want that count stopped? Unless he was afraid of what that count would uncover.”
BREAKING: Attorney General Rob Bonta just filed an emergency writ with the court of appeals to stop ballots from being counted.
For those not aware, we are investigating a reported discrepancy of 45,000 votes. pic.twitter.com/V882Ks8ZEt
— Sheriff Chad Bianco (@ChadBianco) March 24, 2026
DIVE DEEPER: Desperate Cover-Up? Dem AG Files Emergency Writ to Halt Recount of Seized Ballots in Newsom-Backed Scheme
Sheriff Calls Out Dem AG Intimidation Over Massive Ballot Discrepancy in Newsom-Backed Prop 50 Scheme
The Court of Appeal rejected the emergency writ. It was not, however, a merits ruling on the validity of the investigation.
A three-judge panel, according to CalMatters, effectively told Bonta on Tuesday to pound sand and refile in the proper Riverside County court. Which, for the time being, allows Bianco’s fact-finding mission to expose whatever irregularities may have handed Democrats their controversial map-drawing power to continue.
The outlet notes that Bonta is “evaluating next steps to ensure a swift and appropriate resolution to this matter.”
County Registrar Art Tinoco and state officials have rejected Bianco’s probe, stating that the actual final discrepancy is only roughly 103 votes and attributing the larger gap to a misunderstanding of unprocessed data. Critics of the investigation dismiss the larger gap as a simple paperwork or process misinterpretation.
A Riverside Superior Court judge previously sided with the sheriff, though, greenlighting the continuation of his inquiry under a court-appointed special master to ensure independence and transparency. Bianco has stressed that his seizure of the ballots is not meant to count votes in favor of or against Prop 50, but simply to figure out why there is a gap in the vote count, let alone potentially over 45,000.
Bianco tells CalMatters that Bonta’s investigation is “little more than a fishing expedition meant to sow distrust and undermine public confidence in our elections.”
Bianco countered, “Why would you interfere and obstruct an investigation instead of assist? What are you afraid of? Bonta is a corrupt political activist put in place by Gavin Newsom to run cover for the corruption in Sacramento.”
If the Democrat AG let the investigation proceed unhindered, confident in the official, certified results, then a finding that concurs with his assessment would restore confidence in the ballot-counting process. To do otherwise is what actually sows doubt.
RedState will keep readers updated as this investigation, which, while starting at the county level, has national implications, moves forward.
Editor’s Note: The Democrats are doing everything in their power to undermine the integrity of our elections.
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