A second batch of mail-in ballots has been stolen in California, intensifying scrutiny of postal security less than a month before the midterms.
The San Mateo County Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder’s Office announced Thursday that election forms were swiped from a U.S. Postal Service office in Daly City, just south of San Francisco. The county and postal inspectors have launched an active investigation, though the number of ballots taken remains unknown.
“People need to have confidence that their vote-by-mail ballot will reach its intended destination, especially when it comes to something as fundamental as their right to vote,” San Mateo County Supervisor David Canepa told the Palo Alto Daily Post.
“We need a complete investigation, stronger protections for the mail, and straightforward communication with the public. With the midterm elections approaching, we cannot afford to leave residents wondering whether their ballots or other important mail are safe,” he continued. “This is simply unacceptable.”
The county’s election division is urging voters to track their ballot status through the California Secretary of State’s website. Those who suspect their ballot was taken can request a replacement online.
“The Registration & Elections Division maintains established ballot security procedures to ensure that only one ballot per voter is counted,” the county said in its Thursday release.
“Each Vote by Mail ballot is associated with an individual voter, and ballot processing safeguards prevent duplicate ballots from being counted for the same voter.”
The Daly City theft follows a brazen postal truck robbery in Sacramento County roughly one week earlier. Video captured a man in a gray SUV pulling up to the truck in broad daylight, popping open its rear compartment, and fleeing with trays of mail.
U.S. Postal Inspector Jonathan Lanning confirmed that ballots may have been among the items stolen in that heist. The Postal Inspection Service is offering up to $100,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction.
California’s early mail voting for the November election began after ballots were distributed starting Oct. 5. All mail-in ballots must be postmarked by Election Day to count.
The back-to-back thefts have amplified existing anxieties about vote-by-mail security, particularly as the Trump administration has pushed to restrict mail voting nationwide. State and local officials have sought to distinguish between postal theft and electoral fraud while reassuring the public that procedural checks exist to prevent compromised ballots from affecting results.
The Sacramento and San Mateo County incidents represent separate criminal events with no established connection, though both targeted election mail during the state’s active voting period. Federal and local investigators have not identified suspects in either case.
California’s all-mail ballot system, adopted statewide in recent election cycles, has faced repeated political attacks over fraud claims that election officials and independent experts have consistently refuted. The current thefts introduce a tangible security breach into an environment already saturated with disputed allegations about mail voting integrity.