Thin Evidence and Fringe Groups: Inside Sheriff Chad Bianco’s Election Fraud Investigation

RIVERSIDE COUNTY — The investigation into Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco’s Proposition 50 county election investigation continues to expand as new details emerge regarding the groups behind the initial voter fraud claims. Before thousands of Riverside County ballots were seized and before the courts intervened, a political movement was already questioning election integrity in the region, ultimately leading to an alleged fraud investigation led by Sheriff Bianco.

In 2022, a woman named Shelby Bunch appeared in numerous instances before the Board of Supervisors to raise concerns regarding the possible manipulation of voting machines in relation to the primary election. Bunch, speaking on behalf of the "New State of California"—a conservative organization seeking to establish a 51st state under a Republican government—warned officials that they would eventually answer to law enforcement rather than just the public.

A new report from CalMatters is now taking a closer look at those claims and the individuals behind them. According to the report, which included emails obtained between Bunch and Sheriff Bianco, the claims made throughout 2022 and 2023 were often inconsistent and lacked supporting evidence. While the group initially focused on removing Dominion voting machines, the narrative eventually shifted toward allegations of dead people or multiple people voting.

Experts suggest this shift in strategy was likely an attempt to gain more validity in the eyes of Sheriff Bianco. By 2025, similar claims were presented by Greg Langworthy, a member of another conservative group called the Riverside Election Integrity Team. Langworthy’s claims focused on an alleged 45,000-ballot discrepancy tied to the 2025 special election.

Despite the serious nature of the allegations, CalMatters argues that the seizure of thousands of ballots by the sheriff was based on what they describe as "thin evidence" provided by two radical political groups. While the claims initially seemed to lack merit, the focus has since shifted almost entirely to what these groups call an "audit" of data from the registrar’s office.

With a high-stakes governor’s race on the horizon, experts warn that the impact of these claims could extend far beyond Riverside County. The county now holds a significant portion of California’s 48th House District, and the Riverside Registrar will be overseeing the counting of many of those votes. Observers fear that the recent ballot seizure could lead to even more chaos in future high-stakes elections.

Explore: NBCPalmSprings.com, where we are connecting the Valley.