Los Angeles officials are investigating an incident involving burned mail-in ballots in a ballot drop-off box and deliberate destruction at a voting center in Los Angeles County.
The Los Angeles County Registrar’s Office stated that on the morning of May 31, during routine ballot collection procedures, staff discovered that the voting center located at Cesar E. Chavez Park had been intentionally damaged. Prompt action was taken by relevant personnel, and voting operations were not affected.
Additionally, officials found “a small number of mail-in ballots damaged by what appears to be burning” inside a ballot drop-off box at the Department of Public Social Services – Civic Center in Los Angeles.
The statement indicated that preliminary information suggests these are isolated incidents occurring after the most recent scheduled ballot collection time and with the next collection scheduled for the following morning, involving a limited number of ballots.
Both incidents are under investigation, and officials are working to confirm if any voters were affected. The statement mentioned that voters whose ballots were burned “will be contacted directly and informed of the options available, including issuance of replacement ballots if necessary.”
Officials advised the public to report any suspicious activities related to ballots or election matters to the Registrar’s Office.
Furthermore, Los Angeles County emphasized that all incidents involving election operations and materials will be taken seriously, and if necessary, reported to law enforcement agencies and other relevant authorities for investigation and full cooperation.
The county government also pointed out that federal and state laws dictate that actions such as damaging or tampering with ballots, disrupting voting equipment, election facilities, or election materials, will result in penalties.
The incidents occurred just one day before the highly contested Los Angeles mayoral primary and statewide elections.
In the Los Angeles mayoral race, the three main candidates are reality TV personality Spencer Pratt, Democratic incumbent Mayor Karen Bass, and more progressive City Councilor Nithya Raman.
If no mayoral candidate secures over half of the votes in the primary on Tuesday, the top two candidates with the highest votes will advance to the general election in November.
Regarding the California governor election, former Fox News TV host and political commentator Steve Hilton is calling on Republicans to unite and support him to secure one of the two runoff spots in the November election. His primary Democratic opponents include billionaire and climate advocate Tom Steyer and former California Attorney General and former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra.