Nearly 100 stolen special election ballots found in Sacramento County homeless encampment, officials say
By Lindsay Weber, Carolina Estrada
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SACRAMENTO COUNTY, California (KCRA) — Dozens of stolen, unvoted ballots for the special election on Proposition 50 were found in a Sacramento County homeless encampment on Wednesday, according to the sheriff’s office.
Sgt. Amar Gandhi, a spokesperson for the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, said deputies were in the area of Elder Creek and Mayhew roads to clean up a camp in the area when they found 99 ballots and other election-related materials among a large amount of other mail.
“Obviously saw the urgency, grabbed all those items first, got the ballots and stuff returned to the voter registration,” Gandhi said.
He said deputies secured the ballots and election mail and returned them to the Sacramento County Department of Voter Registration and Elections.
He confirmed to KCRA 3 that the ballots were voided.
“They won’t count for anything,” Gandhi said.
The county’s Department of Voter Registration and Elections stated that new ballots will be sent to affected voters on Thursday.
The sheriff’s office said the camp was vacant when deputies arrived, and no arrests have been made in connection with the stolen ballots. Investigators are now working to identify those responsible for the theft.
“It’s a big deal and it’s an undertaking. So, this is something that will work in conjunction with the post office as well,” Gandhi said. “It’s going to take a lot of backtracking.”
Any California voter who has not received their ballot is urged to contact their county elections office to have their ballot reissued.
Gandhi said the goal is to protect the integrity of every vote.
“Whether it’s mail-in or some other method, make sure you’re taking the steps to track it and making sure your vote counts,” he said.
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