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Thieves swiped voters’ mail-in ballots from a post office in the Bay Area, sparking fears of election fraud after another theft of ballots last week.
The San Mateo County Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder’s Office said in a Thursday press release that it was notified that the election forms were recently stolen from a US Postal Service Office in Daly City, including mail-in ballots from San Mateo County voters.
The county, located just south of San Francisco, and the US Postal Service are actively investigating the theft. It’s unclear how many ballots were stolen, the county said.
The county’s election division encouraged voters to monitor the status of their mail-in ballots through the California Secretary of State’s website. If voters feels their ballot was affected, they can request a replacement ballot online.
“The Registration & Elections Division maintains established ballot security procedures to ensure that only one ballot per voter is counted,” the county said.
“Each Vote by Mail ballot is associated with an individual voter, and ballot processing safeguards prevent duplicate ballots from being counted for the same voter.”
The incident comes about a week after a postal truck in Sacramento County was hit by a thief.
Video of the broad-daylight mail heist showed a man pulling up in a gray SUV and popping open the truck’s rear compartment before making off with trays of mail.
US Postal Inspector Jonathan Lanning confirmed that ballots may have been caught up in the heist.
The US Postal Inspection Service is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpertator in that case.
California’s early mail voting for the November election is currently underway after ballots were sent out on Oct. 5. Mail-in ballots have to be postmarked by Election Day to be counted.
The latest incidents have raised concern about the security of the mail-in ballots, especially amid President Donald Trump’s administration’s efforts to restrict voting by mail.
“People need to have confidence that their vote-by-mail ballot will reach its intended destination, especially when it comes to something as fundamental as their right to vote,” San Mateo County Supervisor David Canepa told the Palo Alto Daily Post.
“We need a complete investigation, stronger protections for the mail, and straightforward communication with the public. With the midterm elections approaching, we cannot afford to leave residents wondering whether their ballots or other important mail are safe,” he added. “This is simply unacceptable.”