Despite fears, election officials insist no evidence of drop box tampering in Richmond

RICHMOND, Calif. (KTVU) - Contra Costa County election officials say they've identified at least 40 ballots that have been lost after they were dropped off at the Richmond City Hall ballot box on October 12.  

“Ballot boxes are emptied everyday, they’re emptied everyday by a team of two people," said Scott Konopasek, Contra Costa County's assistant registrar of voters.  

"And ballots were picked up on the 12th and the 13th. We can’t explain why we don’t have the ballots that the voters said they dropped into the ballot box on Monday the 12th. But what’s really important is that those voters get a chance to vote.”

The Richmond City Clerk's Office responded to reports of ballot theft on Thursday after some voters expressed they have not been able to confirm whether their ballots were received. 

The allegations come from some voters who said they dropped their ballots off at an authorized election drop box at Richmond City Hall.

Zachary Adams is one of them. “The state gave plenty of options to turn in ballots, we did all that," said Adams.  "We ended up with a situation where we did everything right and it hasn’t been counted yet.”

Adams kept checking the state's "Where's My Ballot" tracker, but it never updated and that's when he began to worry. 

After posting about the issue online, he realized he wasn't the only one in the dark.  

“What bothers me the most about it, is the fact that other people may not know until now, like 'hey.. maybe they got that email' or maybe they’re just seeing something online.”

Konopasek believes this is simply a handling issue with some ballots at this one drop box, on this one day. "The ballot box at Richmond City Hall has been inspected by the county, and they have no reason to believe that the box has been tampered with," city officials said in a statement. 

An investigation into what happened and exactly how many ballots went missing, is ongoing.

Konopasek says they've contacted 40 of the affected voters, but believes there may be more. His team is working to track and contact any more people whose ballots may not have been processed. 

“Voters should look at this as a success story," said Konopasek. "The system worked, they voted early, checked their status and we corrected the situation.”

Adams, who is among the at least 40 impacted voters, has requested a replacement ballot and is determind to have his vote counted. He hopes others do the same. 

“Check your status," said Adams. "If it hasn’t been done, at this point, make a plan. You might have to go vote in person. Vote early this weekend and make sure your voice is heard.”

The clerk's office said it could take three to four business days for a ballot to be reported as received by the county elections office. They also offered the resources below: 

Individuals may visit: https://www.cocovote.us/registration-and-voting-options/vote-by-mail-status/ or call (925) 3335-7800 to track their ballots.

Individuals may also visit: https://www.cocovote.us/election/presidential-general-election-november-3-2020/#Election – click on Regional Early Voting Sites.  Early voting begins Friday, October 30, 2020, a snap shot of the dates and times are below.  To get the complete schedule and list of sites, click on the above link.