Inland Empire elected officials gathered Thursday at the Riverside County Registrar of Voters office for a press conference on the upcoming election.
Before the press conference, U.S. Rep. Norma Torres (D-Calif.) and other officials toured the facilities.
The main focus of the press conference was to assure the public that the upcoming election would be fair and well-organized.
“It is one thing to hear political rhetoric and fear-mongering surrounding our elections. It is another thing to come here, see the process firsthand, and hear directly from the people who do the job every day,” Torres said.
“Election administration must remain transparent, accountable, and conducted according to established procedures,” she said.
Several officials raised concerns about federal interference under President Donald Trump.
Riverside County Supervisor Karen Spiegel said she was confident that the Registrar of Voters office had the resources to handle the upcoming election. She also urged members of the public to tour the facilities.
“If you ever wanted to know, you can come have a tour. We've been offering tours. We've had many of you take advantage of that. We hope you do because I know you would feel that our system is secure and that your ballots do count,” Spiegel said.
Spiegel also discussed the resources available to voters and efforts to remove barriers to voting.
“We have new equipment, we have temporary employees, we have so many ballot places. We've taken every excuse away from our voters,” she said.
Spiegel insisted that the election process was fair and organized.
“We want you to vote. Vote by mail. It is safe, and there is integrity in our system,” she said.
U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) said Trump's attempt to interfere in the election was an “attempted federal takeover.”
He noted state and local governments, not the federal government, administer elections.
Takano also said that while Trump claims there's election fraud in California, he hasn't acted on it.
“If you have charges, then bring an indictment,” he said.
Takano also urged the public to rely on credible sources of information, such as the Registrar of Voters office, for information on the election.
U.S. Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.) also criticized President Trump's attacks on elections and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco's actions involving election ballots.
“Let's be clear: This is no time to mince words, because the future of our democracy is on the line,” Ruiz said.
“We have a president who is doing everything he can to sow confusion, distrust, and doubt about our elections. And we have a sheriff who is doing everything he can to help him,” he said.
Ruiz also criticized Trump's repeated claims about noncitizens voting illegally.
“Donald Trump is spreading the lie of rampant voter fraud by noncitizens illegally voting. It's a lie, plain and simple,” Ruiz said.
“Here in Riverside County, Chad Bianco went further and broke election law by seizing ballots and trying to intimidate voters and election workers,” Ruiz said.
“That's not just my opinion. That's what the California Supreme Court said in a unanimous decision. Chad Bianco, our county's highest law enforcement official, broke the law,” he added.
On Sept. 24, the California Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Bianco's seizure of about 650,000 ballots from the November 2025 special election violated state election law. The court ordered the ballots returned to the Riverside County Registrar of Voters. Bianco returned the ballots and election materials on Sept. 29.
Torres was asked whom voters should contact if they're feeling intimidated or threatened during the election. Torres said voters should direct any complaints to the local Registrar of Voters office.
“He (Bianco) is part of law enforcement, but we want to make sure that we are utilizing our state and local resources, most of all the registrar of voters here. They can give you direction on who else to contact or immediately dispatch someone out,” she said.
Torres also posted voting information that included how to act if approached by a law enforcement officer, how to report an incident and how to document it. This included information on knowing your rights at the polls and a hotline number, 800-345-8683, to report complaints to the California secretary of state's office.
