On October 18, the Sacramento County Voter Registration and Elections Department was informed that a stack of county voter information guides were found in a residential recycling bin in Elk Grove.
A United States Postal Service (USPS) regional representative was contacted by the county and approximately 780 of these guides were recovered.
In accordance with USPS Office of Inspector General guidelines for election mail, the bundle was promptly returned via mail stream for redelivery on October 19.
The county elections office announced that the USPS search did not find any discarded ballots.
Sacramento County spokesperson Gianna Haynes told citizens that abandoned voters in the area bounded by White Rock Parkway to the north, Bruceville Road to the east, Bilby Road to the south and Franklin Boulevard to the west. He said the guide had been found.
Haynes said residents of the area found a bunch of voter guides in trash cans.
She also notes that these voter guides are typically transported in bundles by mail carriers and then distributed during the route, as opposed to ballots that are split by address at the post office before being dispatched for delivery. We also mentioned that it will be added to the mail pile.
Haines said county elections staff are concerned about the recent discovery of hundreds of decommissioned county voter information guides.
“It is certainly alarming that voters who expect educational materials to reach them are not receiving them, and it is alarming that anyone chooses to disenfranchise voters by dumping the voter information guide. I am concerned,” she said.
Haynes added that the incident is unprecedented in Sacramento County.
“We’ve never seen hundreds of supplies dumped like this before, so we take it very seriously,” she said. “Obviously, our goal is to: Ensuring that registered voters have timely access to the materials they need so that they can cast an informed vote before Election Day.
“We are working closely with the U.S. Postal Service and the Office of the Secretary of State to investigate this matter and hope that something like this never happens again.”
USPS spokesperson Kristina Uppal also addressed the issue of the discarded voter guide.
“The U.S. Postal Service is committed to the safe and timely delivery of the nation’s election mail between now and the November election,” she said.
“The Postal Service is aware of election mail in the Elk Grove, Calif. dumpster containing a bundle of voter information guides for the (Sacramento) County. We take allegations of mail mishandling very seriously. is taken seriously.
“This case has been sent to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Office of USPS Inspections for investigation. No further comments will be made until that review is completed.”
The Sacramento County Voter Registration and Elections Office encourages residents of this county to report suspected mail crimes to the U.S. Postal Investigation Service National Law Enforcement Communications Center by calling (877) 876-2455.
Haynes said voters should have already received their county voter information guide and ballot in the mail.
If voters have not received a voter guide or ballot, Haynes recommends contacting the county call center, which operates Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
“We can confirm that these materials were actually mailed to your address, we have the correct information on file, and we can give you some options,” she said. We can republish the guide to void mailed-in ballots or provide information on how to vote in person when vote centers open (October 29).”
Haynes added that the call center will also help access the county’s voter information guide on the county’s website, www.SacCounty.net. The county call center phone number is (916) 875-6451.
There are 18 vote centers opening countywide on October 29, two of which are in Elk Grove. These Elk Grove sites are California Northstate University at 9700 West Taron Drive and the District56 Center at 8230 Civic Center Drive. Eight additional vote centers will open in various Elk Grove locations on November 5.
For those who do not plan to vote in person, but prefer to drop their vote-by-mail ballots in secure drop-boxes, Elk Grove has five such drop-boxes.
Information about Elk Grove vote centers and drop-box locations is available at the county’s website at www.Elections.SacCounty.gov.
