Tag Archive for: California

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CA Supreme Court Advances UCLA Voting Rights Project Case Over Riverside Election Materials Seizure

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Alberto Lammers; alammers@luskin.ucla.edu

California Supreme Court Advances UCLA Voting Rights Project Case Over Riverside Election Materials Seizure

In a case brought by four Riverside County voters represented by UCLA VRP, the justices directed respondents to explain why the relief sought by petitioners should not be granted, moved the matter forward on an expedited basis, and left in place the April 8 stay issued in the Attorney General’s related case.

LOS ANGELES (May 14, 2026) — The California Supreme Court has ordered Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and Registrar of Voters Art Tinoco to show cause why the relief sought by petitioners in Cervantes v. Bianco should not be granted. The Court has directed respondents to file returns within 30 days, said the matter will proceed on an expedited basis, and indicated it does not anticipate granting extensions absent specific and compelling good cause. The Court also denied petitioners’ separate application for a stay in light of its April 8 stay order in Attorney General v. Bianco, which remains in effect. 

In its petition, the UCLA Voting Rights Project (VRP) challenged Sheriff Bianco’s seizure of ballots and election materials from the Riverside County Registrar of Voters and asked the Court to halt any further seizure or handling of those materials, restore lawful custody, and require that any further review proceed only under California election law and through authorized election officials. In recent weeks, VRP’s clients also notified the Court of additional developments, including the seizure of 426 additional boxes of election materials and new concerns involving the handling and security of materials while the case has been pending. 

“The Court order makes clear that our client’s case is moving forward and will receive full consideration on an expedited basis,” said Sonni Waknin, Senior Voting Rights Counsel at VRP. “The issues raised in the petition are of serious concern and warrant full consideration by the Court.”

The order moves the petition into a fuller merits phase and maintains the protections already imposed by the Court in the related Attorney General matter.

Read the order here.

ABOUT the UCLA Voting Rights Project

The UCLA Voting Rights Project was established to protect equal voting rights for all Americans through strategic litigation, social science research and policy advocacy. The VRP seeks to ensure that all individuals are afforded equal access to the electoral process and representation in governance. For more information about the UCLA Voting Rights Project, please visit vrp.ucla.edu.

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UCLA Voting Rights Project Filing Alerts CA Supreme Court to Alleged Security Breach in Riverside Ballot Seizure Case

Letter also urges Court to decide on whether a sheriff may lawfully take possession of ballots outside official election process.

LOS ANGELES (April 28, 2026) — The UCLA Voting Rights Project (VRP) today filed a letter alerting the California Supreme Court to developments that came to light after briefing closed on March 30, 2026. According to the filing, Sheriff Bianco’s counsel allegedly created a public link that allowed access to at least some of the seized election materials, raising new election security concerns while the case remains pending. The letter also argues that, even after the Court’s interim action in the Attorney General’s matter, the Justices should still resolve the election-law questions presented in this case before the 2026 primary election moves forward. 

“We are asking the Court to do more than pause this particular investigation. We are asking it to make clear that ballots and election materials cannot be taken out of the hands of election officials and handled outside the safeguards established by California law,” said Sonni Waknin, senior voting rights counsel at VPR. “What has happened in Riverside shows why that question cannot be left unanswered. With primary voting beginning in a few days, the Court should act quickly to reaffirm that ballot custody, security, and review must remain under lawful election procedures and not be left to ad hoc actions by law enforcement.”

Read the filing here.

ABOUT the UCLA Voting Rights Project

The UCLA Voting Rights Project was established to protect equal voting rights for all Americans through strategic litigation, social science research and policy advocacy. The VRP seeks to ensure that all individuals are afforded equal access to the electoral process and representation in governance. For more information about the UCLA Voting Rights Project, please visit vrp.ucla.edu.

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UCLA Voting Rights Project Issues Letter to Riverside County Regarding Concerns Over Sheriff Bianco’s Outside Legal Fees

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Alberto Lammers; alammers@luskin.ucla.edu

UCLA Voting Rights Project Issues Letter to Riverside County Regarding Concerns Over Sheriff Bianco’s Outside Legal Fees

Letter outlines why Riverside Co. taxpayers should not be on the hook for Sheriff’s private attorney’s fees.

LOS ANGELES (April 13, 2026) — The UCLA Voting Rights Project (VRP) today sent a letter to Riverside County supervisors outlining concerns over any possible effort by the County to pay outside legal fees incurred by Sheriff Chad Bianco after he hired a private law firm to defend himself in litigation arising from his seizure of approximately 650,000 ballots and election materials.

Riverside County has noticed a closed-session discussion for Tuesday, April 14, involving four lawsuits against Sheriff Bianco. One of those matters is the case brought by VRP clients, who challenged Bianco’s seizure of ballots and election materials from the Riverside County Registrar of Voters. Today’s letter states that Bianco chose to defend himself through outside counsel rather than be defended by the Riverside County Counsel, and that he did so without first obtaining the approval required under California law.

Under Government Code section 995.1, a county employee seeking outside legal defense must request that defense from the County before those costs are incurred. According to VRP’s letter, Sheriff Bianco did not do that. Instead, retaining private counsel to defend him in the four separate lawsuits over his election-related conduct.

“Sheriff Bianco chose to hire his own private lawyers without any indication that he followed the process required by California Law.” said Sonni Waknin, Senior Voting Rights Counsel at the VRP. “It is concerning that Riverside County taxpayers may be asked to cover possibly hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars in legal fees resulting from that decision.”

The letter also points to a similar dispute in Los Angeles County, where then-Sheriff Alex Villanueva contracted with outside legal counsel without approval from the County Board. In that matter, a California appellate court found that the County had retained the power to contract for legal services, not then-Sheriff Villanueva. The letter argues that the same principle applies here: Sheriff Bianco cannot bypass County Counsel, hire his own private firm, and then require Riverside County to reimburse him after the fact.

In its letter, VRP asks the Board of Supervisors to reject any request to reimburse Bianco for private legal fees tied to the pending litigation over his seizure and handling of election materials.

Read the letter here.

ABOUT the UCLA Voting Rights Project

The UCLA Voting Rights Project was established to protect equal voting rights for all Americans through strategic litigation, social science research and policy advocacy. The VRP seeks to ensure that all individuals are afforded equal access to the electoral process and representation in governance. For more information about the UCLA Voting Rights Project, please visit vrp.ucla.edu.

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UCLA Voting Rights Project Notifies California Supreme Court of New Developments in Riverside Election Materials Seizure

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Alberto Lammers; alammers@luskin.ucla.edu

UCLA Voting Rights Project Notifies California Supreme Court of New Developments in Riverside Election Materials Seizure

Letter cites new reporting from The New York Times, indicating that no special master has been appointed and that Sheriff Chad Bianco seized 426 additional boxes of election materials from the Riverside County Registrar.

LOS ANGELES (March 27, 2026) — The UCLA Voting Rights Project (VRP) today notified the California Supreme Court of new developments in its pending petition arising from Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco’s seizure of election materials.

In a letter filed with the Court, petitioners pointed to new reporting by The New York Times indicating that no special master has been appointed in connection with the sheriff’s actions, despite a video recording of Bianco where he claims to the contrary. The filing also cites the Times’ reporting that Bianco seized 426 boxes of new election materials from the Riverside County Registrar on Tuesday of this week.

The letter was filed as the California Supreme Court considers next steps in the case, which has been docketed as Case No. S295866.

“These new developments make an already serious situation even more alarming,” said Sonni Waknin, Senior Voting Rights Attorney of the VRP. “California law is very clear. Election materials are to remain in the custody of election officials and be handled through established public processes. The reported seizure of additional boxes of election materials, without the appointment of a special master, only deepens the urgency of judicial intervention.”

VRP Senior Voting Rights Advisor and former California Attorney General, Xavier Becerra, stated, “Today we filed an additional briefing with the Supreme Court documenting that Sheriff Bianco continues to violate the law by removing ballots and election materials from the Registrar of Voters Office. We are calling on the California Supreme Court to order Sheriff Bianco to immediately return all ballots and election material to the custody of the Riverside County Registrar of Voters.”

In the filing, petitioners argue that these developments are causing irreparable harm to the integrity of the electoral process and undermining public confidence in elections. The letter asks the Court to exercise jurisdiction over the matter, as the scope of the seizure continues to expand.

The VPR filed its original writ petition with the California Supreme Court on March 26, 2026, seeking immediate relief in response to the sheriff’s seizure of election materials from the Riverside County Registrar of Voters.

ABOUT the UCLA Voting Rights Project

The UCLA Voting Rights Project was established to protect equal voting rights for all Americans through strategic litigation, social science research and policy advocacy. The VRP seeks to ensure that all individuals are afforded equal access to the electoral process and representation in governance. For more information about the UCLA Voting Rights Project, please visit vrp.ucla.edu.

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UCLA Voting Rights Project Files Petition with California Supreme Court to Stop Illegal Vote Count By Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Alberto Lammers; alammers@luskin.ucla.edu 

UCLA Voting Rights Project Files Petition with California Supreme Court to Stop Illegal Vote Count By Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco

LOS ANGELES (March 26, 2026) – The UCLA Voting Rights Project (VRP), along with VRP Senior Voting Rights Advisor and former California Attorney General, Xavier Becerra, filed a petition with the California Supreme Court today asking them to direct Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco to return all seized ballots to their rightful place at the Riverside County Registrar of Voters Office.

The VRP lawsuit contends that under multiple provisions of California law, all voted ballots have to remain in the custody of the County Registrar of Voters, and ballots are not permitted to be handled, canvassed, or counted by anyone outside the official elections staff.  The lawsuit further contends that Sheriff Bianco’s attempt to use criminal investigation authority does not override the Legislature’s clear commandments on the handling of election materials.

During his press conference on March 20, 2026, Mr. Bianco admitted that his office had seized and begun counting cast ballots from the 2025 Special Election. While Mr. Bianco does have the power of investigation, he does not have any legal authority to remove ballots from the Registrar of Voters’ office, and he does not have any legal authority to preside over a recount. Importantly, none of these things can occur outside of public view, as has been the case.  

Further, as the Attorney General has noted, the suspicions Sheriff Bianco asserts are insufficient to support tarnishing the vote totals as announced by Riverside County after the election. Riverside County has a proven track record of accurately tabulating ballots.  According to data from the Riverside County elections website, and crosschecked against the California Secretary of State website, in every election from November 2020 to November 2025, the final vote tally before certification has matched the final certified vote tally by 99.7% or higher. In all five elections, the Riverside certified vote tally matches to 100% the California Secretary of State certified vote tally to the exact same number.  (See Table 1 on the following page).

Becerra, VRP Senior Voting Rights Advisor, stated, “Our election laws are clear: voter ballots are sacred and must be protected from tampering. Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco is supposed to enforce the law, not break it. His reckless seizure of more than 650,000 ballots from the 2025 special election and his attempt to oversee a recount not only violate California election law but are based on no credible evidence whatsoever. Law enforcement officials are legally prohibited from interfering in counting ballots, in California and nationwide.”

Chad Dunn, Director of Litigation of the VRP and adjunct professor in the UCLA School of Law and Luskin School of Public Affairs, stated, “The UCLA Voting Rights Project was established to train new voting rights practitioners in the constant struggle to protect our democracy by ensuring the rule of law governs elections. It is fitting that the VRP, with its election law expertise, steps in on behalf of Riverside County citizens to protect their right to vote. This Petition asserts that the California Legislature has adopted careful and meticulous protections and procedures, common across the states, to ensure accurate election outcomes that the public can and should trust. What is going on in Riverside County is in violation of these laws, and the Petition asks that the California Supreme Court regain control of these election materials.” 

Read the petition here.

Table 1: Comparison of Vote Tally for Riverside County to Secretary of State Certified Results

ABOUT the UCLA Voting Rights Project

The UCLA Voting Rights Project was established to protect equal voting rights for all Americans through strategic litigation, social science research and policy advocacy. The VRP seeks to ensure that all individuals are afforded equal access to the electoral process and representation in governance. For more information about the UCLA Voting Rights Project, please visit vrp.ucla.edu.

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Data Source for Riverside County:

https://voteinfo.net/november-4-2025-statewide-special-election

https://voteinfo.net/november-5-2024-election

https://voteinfo.net/november-8-2022-consolidated-general-election-0

https://voteinfo.net/september-14-2021-california-gubernatorial-recall-election-0

https://voteinfo.net/november-3-2020-consolidated-general-election-0

Data Source for Secretary of State:

https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/sov/2025-special/sov/03-voter-participation-stats-by-county.pdf

https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/sov/2024-general/sov/03-voter-participation-stats-by-county.pdf

https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/sov/2022-general/sov/03-voter-participation-stats-by-county.pdf

https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/sov/2021-recall/sov/03-voter-participation-stats-by-county.pdf

https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/sov/2020-general/sov/03-voter-participation-stats-by-county.pdf

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UCLA Voting Rights Project Applauds California Leaders’ Commitment to Protecting Democracy

LOS ANGELES (March 5, 2026) — Earlier today, Governor Gavin Newsom, Senate President pro Tempore Monique Limón, and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas announced a joint commitment to protecting California’s elections from potential federal interference. The announcement comes as states across the country face increasing pressure on election administration and new efforts that could undermine voter access. 

Statement from Matt Barreto, faculty director of the UCLA Voting Rights Project, released the following statement:

“The UCLA Voting Rights Project (UCLA VRP) is proud to be an anchor member of the California Democracy Partnership, a group of voting rights legal experts, policy advocates, and community organizers committed to preserving democracy in California. Today, UCLA VRP applauds the commitment made by Governor Gavin Newsom, Senate President pro Tempore Monique Limón, and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas to protect and defend our democracy.

“Just this week, we saw vote suppression on display in Dallas and Williamson County, Texas, where state leaders, employing an obscure state law, forced local election officials to make voting harder for everyone. Chad Dunn, legal director of the UCLA VRP, was part of the team on the ground in Texas working to allow all voters to cast their ballots on Election Day.

“In particular, one of these forced changes by the state of Texas was to assign a specific polling location to each voter and insist that the voter use that location and no other in the county. This represented a last-minute change from the way previous elections had been run for years. What is worse, the voter registration system that the state insisted these counties use was in such disarray that a voter who was trying to find their assigned location was told one location by state officials and a different location by county officials. Predictably, up to half of voters were turned away from the polls on Election Day, some given wrong information about where they should go next. Some voters stood in lines, sometimes twice, for hours.

When Dallas County reasonably sought to extend the voting period by two hours, a local judge agreed. However, within an hour, the Texas attorney general went to the Texas Supreme Court and secured a stay to block the polls from staying open. The Texas Supreme Court left the impression that any votes cast during the extended time would not be counted.

The lessons from Texas in March 2026 should reverberate nationally. Rather than confusing and frustrating voters or erecting new obstacles, there is an opportunity for California to become a national leader in protecting the right to vote for all citizens of all racial groups and all political affiliations.

California has already championed the Voter’s Choice Act and universal vote-by-mail, but the ongoing threat to our democracy continues to loom. California and its leadership are positioned to fight back and fulfill the promise of the fundamental right to vote.

ABOUT the UCLA Voting Rights Project

The UCLA Voting Rights Project was established to protect equal voting rights for all Americans through strategic litigation, social science research and policy advocacy. The VRP seeks to ensure that all individuals are afforded equal access to the electoral process and representation in governance. For more information about the UCLA Voting Rights Project, please visit vrp.ucla.edu.

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UCLA Voting Rights Project Releases Legal Memo Affirming California Legislature’s Authority to Redraw Congressional Districts Mid-Decade

Memo Accompanied by Theoretical Data Map Demonstrating Potential for Implications for Democrats and Republicans

LOS ANGELES (July 31, 2025) — As Texas advances a mid-decade congressional redistricting plan and California Governor Gavin Newsom signals openness to similar action, the UCLA Voting Rights Project (VRP) has released a legal and mapping analysis as leaders give thought to any policy action/  The legal memo argues that the text of the California Constitution continues to recognize the power of the Legislature to redistrict at least in some circumstances. 

The VPR analysis provides a textual analysis of the California Constitution and concludes that neither Proposition 11 nor Proposition 20 stripped the Legislature of its power to establish or change congressional districts. While the Citizens Redistricting Commission remains responsible for drawing maps following the decennial census, the constitution text still recognizes that the Legislature can act independently at other times.

On the mapping side, to illustrate what is practically possible based on the state’s geography, population, and voting patterns, VRP mapping experts have released metrics on a theoretical congressional data map showing how new lines could result in additional Democratic-leaning districts across California. The map is not a policy recommendation or endorsement, but rather a data-informed contribution to the public discourse on redistricting.

Matt Barreto, faculty director of the VRP, said, “As an independent and theoretical exercise, we wanted to see if Governor Newsom’s objective was legally and practically possible. This map demonstrates it is possible to legally draw up to 50 congressional districts in California that are Democratic opportunity seats. If the state legislature and Governor decide to move in that direction, there are easily enough Democratic communities in California to achieve his goal.”

“The UCLA VRP is committed to the equal right to vote for all citizens regardless of their race, ethnicity, or preferences for policies or political parties. Our lawyers and experts have advocated to courts (including the U.S Supreme Court) and Congress for measures that would protect voters from state and local governments that dilute their votes based on their race, ethnicity, and/or viewpoints. States are right to enact laws that ensure their legislatures fairly represent the public. The Supreme Court and Congress should police partisan gerrymanders as violative of the First and Fourteenth Amendments.  When it comes to fair representation in Congress, we need a national policy. Without a national policy, it is a worthwhile exercise for state leaders to consider what steps they can take to ensure Congress is at least representative of the Nation as a whole,” said Chad Dunn, legal director of the VPR. 

Read the legal memo and review the map here.

ABOUT THE UCLA VOTING RIGHTS PROJECT

The UCLA Voting Rights Project is the marquee advocacy project of the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles and is focused on voting rights litigation, research, policy, and training. The UCLA Voting Rights Project addresses monumental and overlooked gaps in the field of voting rights: how to train young lawyers and researchers, support the development of new legal and methodological theories for voting rights cases, and how to advance policy work to ensure that there is a new generation of leaders who are pursuing efforts to guarantee all citizens have equal and fair access to our democracy. The project was founded by Chad W. Dunn, J.D., and Matt Barreto, Ph.D. The UCLA Voting Rights Project is located within the Luskin School of Public Affairs.
To learn more about the UCLA Voting Rights Project, please visit: vrp.ucla.edu

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