Vote center vandalism, fire-damaged ballots under review, LA County elections officials say

Los Angeles County elections officials are reviewing two instances where a vote center was vandalized and mail-in ballots in an official drop box were damaged by fire on Sunday, May 31.

In advance of Tuesday’s statewide primary election, the office of the LA County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk and law enforcement are looking into both situations to find the perpetrators and determine if any voters’ ballots were affected.

“Any attempt to interfere with voting or election operations is taken seriously,” said Dean Logan, Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, in a news release. “We will continue working closely with law enforcement and other partners to safeguard the voting process and ensure voters can participate with confidence.”

Election workers responded Sunday morning to a voter center in Cesar E. Chavez Park in Long Beach, where vandalism was discovered. Officials determined that the vandalism didn’t disrupt voting.

During ballot collection, staff with the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk found mail-in ballots that appeared to be burnt in an official drop box at the county Department of Public Services-Civic Center location in Los Angeles’ Arts District, county officials said. Elections officials believe the damage was an isolated situation that affected a small number of ballots and occurred between Saturday’s collection and the following morning.

The registrar-recorder/county clerk reported the situation to Los Angeles police.

County officials will contact any voters whose ballots were affected by burn damage to lay out available options, including replacement ballots, if needed.

The Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s office encouraged community members to report suspicious activity involving elections materials and facilities or voting operations to 1-800-815-2666, option 2.

Los Angeles and Long Beach police didn’t immediately respond to a request for information.