Monday, April 6, 2026, episode of the podcast The Excerpt: In Riverside County, California, a legal battle is underway between Sheriff Chad Bianco, a prominent election denier who is running for governor, and Democrats who claim his seizure of more than 60,000 ballots in the last election was a political stunt that undermined public confidence in voting. USA TODAY domestic security correspondent Josh Meyer joins The Excerpt to talk about what’s happening in Riverside and how it could affect the midterm elections.
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Dana Taylor:
The midterm elections are heating up, with battle lines being drawn in cities and towns across the country, including Riverside County, California. There, a legal battle is unfolding between Sheriff Chad Bianco, a prominent election denier running for governor, and Democrats who argue that the seizure of more than 60,000 ballots from the last election was a political stunt that undermined public confidence in voting. This is a political battle that could affect elections across the country, even if you don’t call California home.
Hello. Welcome to this excerpt from USA TODAY. I’m Dana Taylor. Today is Monday, April 6, 2026. Join USA TODAY Domestic Security Correspondent Josh Meyer to talk about what’s happening in Riverside and how it affects other counties. Josh, it’s great to have you back on The Excerpt.
Josh Meyer:
Hello, Danna.
Dana Taylor:
Josh, let’s start with Sheriff Chad Bianco. Why is he insisting we need to investigate this election, which took place back in November 2025?
Josh Meyer:
right. Bianco, who has long been concerned about fraud in California’s elections, particularly by Democrats. And what he said in this case was that there was a conservative voting group that turned out to have some disparity in voting. They basically found that there was a difference of 45,000 votes between the votes that were actually cast and initially recorded and the votes that were finally counted during the final count. So he basically said that as part of his job as the sheriff of Riverside County, he got court approval to seize every ballot submitted to Riverside County. And he’s now trying to count them to find out why this discrepancy exists, how it affected the election, and what needs to be done to fix it.
Dana Taylor:
Sheriff Bianco seized more ballots last week, more than 400 boxes. Is this seizure of ballots legal? What does the court say?
Josh Meyer:
Well, California doesn’t think it’s legal. The state attorney general’s office and the secretary of state went to court all the way to the California Supreme Court, arguing that they had no authority to do this because there were no discrepancies on the ballots, making it not only unnecessary but also illegal. So they’ve been fighting hard to stop the vote counting, and they’ve been successful, but they say Chad Bianco doesn’t have the authority to do this. That’s why they are fighting tooth and nail.
Dana Taylor:
In the 2025 election at issue here, voters could overwhelmingly vote in favor of Proposition 50, giving Democrats the right to redraw district maps, giving them a clear advantage and potentially giving them a majority in the House. Josh, weren’t the results already certified? Is he asking the court to throw them out?
Josh Meyer:
right. So it was basically a big win for the Democratic Party. What they’re saying, including Xavier Becerra, one of the gubernatorial candidates running against Chad Bianco, is that this means, for example, the election was certified and there was no fraud, even if there was some fraud, whatever this recount is, which in their opinion is unnecessary, will never come close to changing the outcome of the election. So what they’re saying is that this is a political stunt by a gubernatorial candidate who just wants attention for himself and is trying to undermine voters’ confidence in the election system.
I think that’s one of the reasons they’re fighting so hard is because they think Bianco has ulterior motives. Well, I talked to him yesterday. It was the first time he spoke to reporters since saying the case was on hold, insisting he had no political motives and was just trying to do his job and count the votes, and that it was the California Democratic Party that was trying to block his efforts with grandstanding.
Dana Taylor:
Now, has the sheriff presented any evidence to the court to substantiate his claims of “misconduct”?
Josh Meyer:
As far as we know, he doesn’t. He has also not provided information to the California Attorney General’s Office, which has been one of his major issues with the attorney general. Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta said he was trying to get Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco (who is an elected official, by the way) to provide information beyond the audit to support his claims from the private group, called the Riverside Election Integrity Group, but Bianco refused. What the attorney general also says is that Bianco has many options to demand a recount and work within the system to look for voter fraud, but Bianco has refused to do so and is instead trying to seize ballots on his own, which Attorney General Rob Bonta says is a political move and not an effort to truly understand what’s going on.
Dana Taylor:
Josh, what’s at stake for Riverside residents?
Josh Meyer:
At the end of the day, I think it’s more perception than reality that’s at stake for Riverside residents. I don’t think this will change the outcome of Proposition 50, especially since it was passed overwhelmingly by voters. But I think what’s happening now, at least if you believe Mr. Bianco’s criticisms, is that he’s eroding confidence in the election system and the voting system, especially mail-in voting. Bianco has been a very vocal and vocal supporter of President Trump, and has generally said that mail-in voting should not be trusted, even though Trump only voted by mail last week. But I think what’s at issue here is integrity and trust in the electoral system. And I think this is the same in other places around the country.
Dana Taylor:
The story is reminiscent of the FBI’s seizure of 2020 ballots in Arizona earlier this year. These ballots have become a focal point in proving President Donald Trump’s repeated false claims that he actually won the election. What are the implications for other county officials who may similarly challenge election results?
Josh Meyer:
Well, I guess this is the million dollar question. President Trump continues to beat the drum that mail-in voting cannot be trusted and that it is politicians, not election officials, who say the elections are fair. And this first started in January when the FBI seized ballots in Fulton County, Georgia. Ballots from the 2020 election, which President Trump continues to claim he won even though he lost to Democrat Joe Biden, are still being held in a secure location. As such, the FBI is conducting an investigation at the direction of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which many believe is directed by the White House. And, as you mentioned, they seized ballots in Arizona as well. So the fear is that they will just start questioning the results of elections that they don’t like. And of course, there’s a lot at stake with the midterm elections approaching, which will determine whether President Trump can win Congressional support for his policy agenda in the final two years of his term.
So if they start challenging all these different elections, past elections, what are they going to do when this election comes? If they don’t like the results of a state or district, are they just going to try to steal the ballots? If so, what happens after that? Some voting rights experts say that would create a constitutional crisis.
Dana Taylor:
Are there any courts or state agencies that can resolve this issue with Riverside ballots?
Josh Meyer:
Well, what’s happening in California right now is that Chad Bianco has announced that he’s putting everything on hold. And the reason, he told me, was that the Superior Court judge, who was required to appoint a special lead in the case to oversee the vote-counting process, said, “I’m going to step aside until the California Supreme Court decides what to do about this issue.” However, the California Supreme Court referred the issue to a higher court. So we’re kind of in a legal limbo right now, but given how strongly both sides feel about this, it could end up in the U.S. Supreme Court. No one really knows. What Bianco told me was, “We’re in a legal limbo right now, so we’ll just have to wait and see,” which could drag on for weeks or even months.
Dana Taylor:
California’s election process here allows the top two candidates in the June 2 primary to advance to the general election. How close is the gubernatorial race, and who is the frontrunner at this point?
Josh Meyer:
Well, I think it’s pretty controversial because there are so many Democrats running. There are at least eight candidates, or eight at last count, and no one wants to drop out. So there are concerns, at least among Democrats, that this could affect the election, or at least give some kind of advantage to Chad Bianco, who is currently leading in the polls, and another Republican candidate. Bianco is currently No. 2 in the polls, and the other Republican candidate is No. 1 in the polls, with Democrats trailing behind him. Therefore, Bianco has a chance to win.
Dana Taylor:
Josh Meyer is USA TODAY’s domestic security correspondent. Josh, it’s always a pleasure to have you on The Excerpt.
Josh Meyer:
It’s always good to be here. Thank you, Danna.
Dana Taylor:
We would like to thank Senior Producer Kaely Monahan for her production assistance. Executive producer is Laura Beatty. Let us know what you think about this episode by sending a note to podcasts@usatoday.com. Thank you for your attention. I’m Dana Taylor. Tomorrow morning, we’ll be back with another episode of USA TODAY Excerpts.
