DALY CITY, CA — San Mateo County election officials are working with federal investigators after mail that reportedly included vote by mail ballots was stolen from a Daly City post office, raising questions about how many ballots may have been affected.
The county's Registration & Elections Division stated an employee at USPS in Daly City notified them of the theft on Wednesday.
The number of ballots potentially involved has not yet been determined, according to the San Mateo County Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder's Office.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is investigating the reported theft, while county election officials are coordinating with the U.S. Postal Service.
"Voters who are concerned that their ballots may have been affected by this incident may request a replacement ballot online at smcacre.gov/elections/request-replacement-ballot or in person at any Vote Center in San Mateo County," officials wrote.
Online replacement requests must be submitted by Oct. 27 to allow enough time for mailing.
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Voters can also check their status through California's free "Where's My Ballot" tracking service at WheresMyBallot.sos.ca.gov.
The service sends notifications when ballots are mailed, received and processed.
County officials said ballot security procedures are designed to ensure that only one ballot per voter is counted. Each mail ballot is associated with an individual voter, and safeguards are in place to prevent duplicate ballots from being counted.
Three Vote Centers are currently open in San Mateo County:
Seven more centers are scheduled to open Oct. 24, followed by 36 additional locations on Oct. 31 and four more on Nov. 2, bringing the total to 50 locations by Election Day.
Voters can find locations and hours at smcvote.gov.
Voted ballots can be dropped off at any Vote Center or official San Mateo County ballot drop box by 8 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 3. Ballots mailed back must be postmarked by Election Day and received by Nov. 10 to be accepted.
Officials encourage voters mailing ballots close to the deadline to take them to a post office counter and ask a postal clerk to hand-postmark them. Ballots placed in a mailbox or dropped off at a U.S. Postal Service location on Election Day may not receive a postmark that day, potentially affecting whether they can be counted.
Voters with questions about their ballot status can call or text the Elections Division at 650-312-5222 or email registrar@smcacre.gov.
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