SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The California Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered a county sheriff who seized more than half a million 2025 election ballots to pause his probe into election fraud allegations while the judges review the legal challenge against it.

The order came after California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, last month asked the court to step in, arguing the sheriff has no authority over election materials. A voting rights group is also challenging the ballot seizure.

The dispute started earlier this year and escalated last month when Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco seized 1,000 boxes of election materials to investigate a complaint from a local citizens group about the ballot count from a November 2025 special election on redistricting. Local election officials told the county Board of Supervisors that the complaint was unfounded. After Bonta ordered Bianco to halt his probe, the sheriff seized another 426 boxes of ballots.

Bianco and his office “are hereby ordered to pause the investigation into the November 2025 special election and preserve all seized items,” the order reads.

Bonta said the Wednesday order is essential to stop the sheriff’s probe.

“What the Sheriff says and what he does are often two different things,” Bonta said in a statement. “Today’s decision by the California Supreme Court reins in the destabilizing actions of a rogue Sheriff, prohibiting him from continuing this investigation while our litigation continues.”

Bianco’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Bianco is also one of two prominent Republican gubernatorial candidates in the state. He previously defended his investigation, noting it was approved by a county judge. The sheriff last week said he’s paused the probe because of mounting legal challenges.

The ballot investigation came as President Donald Trump has repeatedly disputed the results of the 2020 election, citing unsubstantiated instances of fraud. His administration recently seized ballots and other documents from an election office in Georgia. Some Republicans have mirrored Trump’s rhetoric on voting in their states.

Trân Nguyễn, The Associated Press