Riverside County, California

California's Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco broke state election law when he seized more than 650,000 ballots from the county's registrar of voters earlier this year, and broke it again by defying Attorney General Rob Bonta's order to reverse course. Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero wrote that state law mandates ballots remain in the custody of election officials, rejecting Bianco's argument that a search warrant justified the seizure. The court ordered Bianco to return the ballots and end his investigation pending review by Bonta's office. A second ruling affirmed the attorney general's constitutional authority to directly supervise sheriffs, rejecting Bianco's claim that such oversight is merely advisory.

Bianco seized the ballots after a November 2025 special election on redistricting, spurred by activists alleging discrepancies later attributed to misread preliminary data. In response, California enacted two new laws making it a felony to seize ballots or voting machines before certification. Bianco has said his investigation will continue regardless of the ruling.

California's prison-building boom left small towns economically dependent on incarceration, but sentencing reforms since the 2010s have cut the state prison population from about 170,000 to 90,000, prompting Gov. Gavin Newsom to close five prisons since 2019. Communities are responding differently: Susanville, remote and isolated near the Nevada border, has seen population decline, deficit budgets and failed legal challenges to closure, with leaders warning of eventual insolvency. Blythe, near the Arizona border, lobbied state officials for assistance after its prison closed in 2022 but says it has received little direct help, though the state notes nearly $1 million was sent to regional workforce development. Tracy, closer to the Bay Area, has fared better, drawing interest from agriculture, education and casino developers for its former prison site.

Researchers say the economic benefits prisons brought rural areas were often overstated and short-lived. More closures are expected as lawmakers seek to cut costs and address billions in deferred maintenance across aging facilities, with a prison in Norco set to close in October.

St. Johns County, Florida commissioners approved a tentative flat property tax rate during a budget hearing that turned into a public debate over automated license plate readers. Sheriff Rob Hardwick's proposed budget increase includes $3.9 million for deputy raises, which he said would give more than 420 deputies below sergeant a roughly $9,000 pay bump and fund five additional positions. Commissioners heard extensive public comment on Flock cameras, with residents citing civil liberties and Fourth Amendment concerns and questioning costs and accountability.

The debate comes after the Florida Department of Transportation revoked permits for license plate readers on state roads, prompting questions about the fate of county-installed cameras and roughly $500,000 earmarked for related software, which Hardwick said could be redirected to jail monitoring technology if the program is shut down. Cameras remain on county roads for now, and Hardwick pointed to ongoing conversations with state lawmakers and the governor's office about the technology's future beyond his tenure. The debate mirrors a broader national backlash against license plate readers, with hundreds of cities and agencies ending contracts with vendors like Flock Safety amid privacy and misuse concerns. The next budget hearing is set for September 15.

Riverside County is moving forward with a plan to create California's first special district dedicated to childcare, aimed at easing shortages in Moreno Valley and Perris — areas described as a "childcare desert." State Assemblymember Corey Jackson helped secure $2 million in state funding to cover local startup costs for the initiative.

The district still needs key details worked out, including who will serve on its governing board. Voters in the affected area will ultimately need to approve a funding mechanism, such as a local tax, before the district can operate — a measure that could go before voters as soon as 2028. A related bill to establish the district as a five-year pilot program failed to pass the Legislature this year.

Jackson said he hopes additional funding could eventually support universal childcare access regardless of family income, though specific services and subsidies will depend on how much revenue is raised. He described the region's childcare shortage as a crisis point for local families.

Turmoil in Shasta County, California's elections office has intensified after registrar Clint Curtis sealed a room containing primary ballots with locks and duct tape, claiming without evidence they seemed suspicious. County leaders publicly condemned Curtis and asked the FBI, California's attorney general and secretary of state to investigate his conduct, while Curtis separately said he too had asked the FBI to look into the matter. The county's Board of Supervisors previously censured Curtis over treatment of staff, and internal investigations found he threatened employees and misused work time on his own campaign.

Curtis, a longtime election denier with no prior election administration experience, drew national attention for seeking to hire Tina Peters, a convicted former Colorado clerk tied to a 2021 voting-machine breach, as a consultant. California lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom's office are reviewing whether such a hire would violate state law. The dispute echoes a separate case in Riverside County, where a sheriff's seizure of ballots is being challenged before the California Supreme Court, raising broader questions about election security and oversight ahead of the midterms.

The California Supreme Court heard oral arguments on whether Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco must return more than 650,000 ballots (over 1,400 boxes) seized in March from local election officials during an investigation into unsubstantiated fraud claims tied to a November special election on redistricting (Proposition 50). Justices appeared skeptical of arguments from Bianco's attorney, Bradley Hertz, who claimed sheriffs can seize ballots under warrant regardless of state election law, and that Attorney General Rob Bonta lacks authority to order sheriffs to stand down. Justices questioned both points, with one calling Hertz's reasoning "bizarre" and another "counterintuitive."

Bianco, a former Republican gubernatorial candidate, defied Bonta's order to halt the seizure and began counting ballots before the state Supreme Court intervened in April. Bianco said he would comply if ordered to return the ballots but may continue his investigation regardless. Voting rights advocates, including likely gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra, frame the case as a test of sheriff authority ahead of the 2026 midterms amid broader efforts by Trump-aligned officials to challenge election administration. A ruling is expected in coming months.