California‘s effort to stop Republican officials from taking and investigating ballots may have an impact on how elections are conducted around the country. The latest ruling in California took place when the Supreme Court stopped a right-wing sheriff from investigating ballots over baseless claims of vote “discrepancies,” CNN reported. The court ordered Sheriff Chad Bianco to return more than 650,000 ballots his department confiscated in Riverside County in March.
“Allowing law enforcement unfettered access to ballots, or the ability to handle and count them in secret, based on unregulated protocols, itself creates a substantial risk to election integrity,” Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero wrote in Thursday’s ruling, according to The Guardian.
What happened in Riverside County after California passed Proposition 50?
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office found itself in legal trouble after California’s special election took place in November. At that time, California voted to pass Proposition 50, the redistricting amendment that was implemented as a response to gerrymandering efforts in Texas. Much like the rest of California, Proposition 50 passed with a wide margin of approval in Riverside County. However, a local activist group raised unfounded allegations of discrepancies in the vote count, prompting the sheriff’s department to launch an investigation.
After the department obtained search warrants to seize ballots and other election materials, Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta argued that Bianco doesn’t have such authority. The dispute continued in the following months as Bianco refused to return the ballots. Although Bianco’s attorneys said Bonta doesn’t have the authority to get involved with the sheriff’s active investigation, the court disagreed.
“Respondents’ arguments all boil down to the unsustainable view that the state’s chief law enforcement officer … must remain a mere bystander to an unprecedented sheriff’s investigation of undeniable statewide significance. As we have explained, that is not the case,” Guerrero wrote in Thursday’s ruling, per The Guardian.
How is California’s ruling against Riverside’s Sheriff’s Office impacting other regions?
While California is aiming to stop unfounded claims of voter fraud, other regions are also following suit. Similar efforts are taking place in Georgia, Connecticut and Arizona, CNN reported.
Tammy Patrick, who served as an election official in Maricopa County, Arizona, said local officials are “working with their state’s attorney general, with county attorneys, with city attorneys to make sure everyone understands who actually has authority and access to any part of the election procedures and processes.”
David Becker, who served as a Justice Department voting section attorney, said the ruling in Riverside may deter other officials from interfering with elections.
“I think it’s nearly impossible we’re going to see another one of those, particularly in the post-election environment, even though election officials are making sure they’re prepared,” Becker said, per CNN.