Forty-eight hours before California’s June 2 primary, ballots were burning in a Los Angeles County drop box, and a Long Beach vote center had been vandalized. No arrests have been made.
Workers found a small number of vote-by-mail ballots with fire damage inside the official drop box at the Department of Public Social Services-Civic Center in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday morning. The fire started sometime after the last ballot collection Saturday night, and before the first pickup Sunday morning, a window when no county employee was present and no one was watching the box. The county has not said how many ballots were burned or whether any were rendered unreadable. Affected voters will be contacted and offered replacement ballots, though with the primary less than 48 hours away, how many will actually get that notice in time is an open question.
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Separately, election workers arrived to find the vote center at Cesar E. Chavez Park in Long Beach had been vandalized. The county did not describe what the vandalism was or how extensive it was. Officials said voting operations continued without disruption.
Both incidents have been referred to the Los Angeles Police Department. Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan issued a statement:
“Our responsibility is to protect voters and ensure every eligible voter has the opportunity to cast a ballot. Any attempt to interfere with voting or election operations is taken seriously. We will continue working closely with law enforcement and other partners to safeguard the voting process and ensure voters can participate with confidence.”
Los Angeles County Board Chair Hilda Solis added:
“Voting is a fundamental right, and Los Angeles County remains committed to ensuring every eligible voter can cast a ballot safely and confidently. Any attempt to vandalize election facilities, damage voting materials, or interfere with the voting process is unacceptable. We take these incidents seriously and will continue working with election officials and law enforcement partners to protect voters and uphold the integrity of our elections.”
The incidents come less than a week after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 73, legislation he said would protect California elections from “interference and intimidation” ahead of the June 2 primary. The bill restricts law enforcement access to election materials without proper authorization and increases penalties for unlawful interference with ballots and election administration.
None of that addresses an unmonitored drop box in downtown Los Angeles getting set on fire the night before an election.
This is not the first time ballot drop boxes have been targeted. In October 2024, drop boxes in Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington, were set ablaze using thermite, a military-grade incendiary compound, destroying hundreds of ballots days before the presidential election. The FBI later confirmed thermite was used in the devices and continues to offer a reward for information leading to the arrest of the suspect. Whether Sunday’s Los Angeles fire is connected to any prior incidents has not been established.
No suspects have been publicly identified in either case. The primary is on Tuesday.
Editor’s Note: Republicans are fighting for election integrity by requiring proper identification to vote.
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