California county discovers trove of unopened ballots from last election in a locked box

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The Humboldt County Office of Elections made an unnerving discovery Monday: a stack of 596 sealed ballots from the most recent election left at the bottom of a locked voting drop box.The uncounted ballots would not have affected the outcome of the November statewide special election for Proposition 50, the county office said in a news release Wednesday.However, officials said they’re working hard to have all the votes legally counted.The office discovered that the ballots were uncounted because of a staff error.

When workers checked the drop box, there was a miscommunication about whether it had been fully emptied, the office said.“That outcome is unacceptable and runs counter to the core of what this office stands for,” Juan Pablo Cervantes, county clerk-recorder and registrar of voters, said in a statement.

“While the mistake occurred after an election worker did not follow proper procedures, the responsibility for what happened ultimately sits with me.”After the ballots were discovered, elections staff confirmed that the sealed ballots had not been tampered with, and they worked with the California secretary of state to determine next steps.Under California law, the ballots should have been counted before the election was certified on Dec.

5 and destroyed six months later.The Office of Elections said it had altered its protocols to ensure such a mistake does not take place again, implementing a new “lock out, tag out” procedure to ensure each drop box is empty and secured before election results are finalized.

“I promise you that we are taking this seriously,” Cervantes said.“We will strengthen our processes and continue pushing toward the standard our community expects and deserves.” California Bianco’s unusual probe drew a sharp rebuke from California Atty.

Gen.Rob Bonta, who said it ‘sets a dangerous precedent and will only sow distrust in ou...