Woodland mail theft saw dozens of California special election ballots taken, officials say
Mail thieves in Yolo County made off with dozens of ballots sent ahead of California's Proposition 50 special election, officials say.
The Yolo County Elections Office announced Thursday that they had been notified by the United States Postal Service about a recent mail theft incident in Woodland.
Cluster mailboxes were broken into on Shiloh Court, Pearl Ct/Way, Carlsbad Place, and Pinnacles Drive. Elections officials say they've counted 61 addresses affected by the theft, with about 135 registered voters living in those homes.
Authorities were able to recover 30 ballots, but noted they were too damaged. Elections officials will be sending out replacement ballots to those voters.
"Yolo County has well-established protocols to maintain the security of our elections," said Yolo County Assessor/Clerk-Recorder/Registrar of Voters Jesse Salinas in a statement.
County elections officials will also be reaching out to the 105 other registered voters impacted by the mail thefts to confirm if those people had already gotten their ballot before the break-in. Replacement ballots will be issued if necessary.
Authorities have not stated if a suspect has been identified in the mail thefts.