Voter Ballots, Discarded Mail Found In Twentynine Palms, Joshua Tree
LANDERS (CBSLA) — Discarded mail, including voter ballots, were discovered Wednesday in Twentynine Palms and Joshua Tree, according to San Bernardino County sheriff's officials.
A citizen told San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies with the Morongo Basin Station that they found the discarded incoming mail, including voter ballots, in the 6500 block of Winters Road in Joshua Tree. More discarded mail was found in the 6500 block of Encelia Avenue in neighboring Twentynine Palms.
The recovered mail was apparently stolen from a cluster of mailboxes within the 56200 block of Reche Road in Landers, north of Joshua Tree, sheriff's officials said. An investigation determined voter ballots were not being targeted, just incoming mail.
All the residents with mailboxes in the area were contacted by deputies, and no more victims were found, authorities said. The case has been forwarded to the United States Postal Inspector for further investigation.
Vote-by-mail ballots are being sent out to homes this week, and the sheriff's department is urging voters to monitor their mailboxes due to the upcoming election. Anyone with information about this mail theft can contact the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department's Morongo Basin Station at (760) 366-4175.
