California Supreme Court hears arguments over sheriff’s seizure of ballots

The California Supreme Court heard arguments regarding a sheriff’s seizure of approximately 650,000 ballots from a November 2025 special election in Riverside County. The core dispute is whether the sheriff has the authority to hold and withhold these materials after local officials deemed an initial complaint unfounded. Legal groups argued that proper contest mechanisms were ignored, while the sheriff's representation stated he was safeguarding the ballots as evidence.