Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco Asks County to Pay Legal Bills After Ballot Seizure Ruled Unlawful
A legal fight over a ballot seizure in Riverside County, California, took a new turn: Sheriff Chad Bianco has filed a claim asking Riverside County to cover his legal costs in four civil cases that grew out of the seizure, according to The Press-Enterprise. The county received the claim on October 16, and Bianco's lawyer says he will sue if it is denied.
The dispute began in February, when, after a group called the Riverside Election Integrity Team reported a claimed discrepancy of 45,896 ballots, Bianco obtained search warrants from a local judge and deputies took roughly 650,000 special-election ballots from the county registrar for a fraud review. California's Supreme Court ruled last month that the seizure was unlawful and that Attorney General Rob Bonta had authority to order the probe stopped and the ballots returned.
The Riverside County Board of Supervisors voted earlier this year against funding Bianco's defense. The county is now reviewing the claim, with a statutory response deadline of December 2. The claim seeks more than $10,000 in attorneys' fees, the report said. If the county refuses payment and Bianco sues, a court would have to decide whether his actions were within the scope of his duties as sheriff and whether taxpayers must fund a private legal defense for an elected official.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：河滨县警长Chad Bianco官方肖像。照片：河滨县警局，公共领域。/ Photo: Official portrait of Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco. Riverside County Sheriff's Office, public domain.
