Election ballots part of alleged mail theft in Millcreek; Postal Service to investigate

SALT LAKE CITY — Election ballots may have been taken in a string of mail thefts, prompting a Postal Service investigation.

Multiple ballots were allegedly stolen from residents' mailboxes, according to the Salt Lake County clerk's office.

Residents of four homes on Millcreek's Elgin Street were alerted that their ballots had arrived, but they were missing from their mailboxes. That prompted the Postal Service investigation.

It's unlikely that thieves were targeting the ballots specifically, but the Postal Service takes all mail theft seriously, said Postal Inspector Brook Robinson.

"Anybody who is going to interfere with an election, it's very unlikely that it's just going to be stealing mail from mailboxes because it's hard to do on a larger scale to do any disruption," Robinson said.

The string of thefts may be on a small scale, but Salt Lake County Clerk Lannie Chapman said the threat of voting fraud is still serious.

"I have proactively called those voters to ensure that, whether or not they received their ballot, I can spoil or cancel their old ballot and issue them a new one," Chapman said.

Chapman said even if the intention of the thieves was voter fraud, that would be very difficult to prove.

More on ballots

• The yellow return envelope and signature and ID number line on ballots should match, Chapman said. If they don't, the ballot will be sent back with an affidavit.
• Those affected by lost or stolen mail-in ballots may be forced to vote in person, Chapman said.
• Oct. 24 is the last day the county clerk will receive mail-in ballots.
• All in-person votes must be cast by Nov. 3 at 8 p.m.

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