An election nightmare could be unfolding in Berkeley, as voters in one neighborhood say they never received their mail-in ballots, in the very area where a mail carrier was robbed earlier this month.

You may have seen today’s shocking accounts of arson at ballot boxes in the states of Washington, Oregon, and Arizona, with hundreds of already-cast ballots being damaged.  

Something similarly troubling may be happening in Berkeley. NBC Bay Area had a report last week that a number of Berkeley residents had not received their mail-in ballots as of October 24, less than two weeks from Election Day. And Berkeleyside connected the dots a few days before with reports that a mail truck had been burglarized in the neighborhood, with the mail carrier saying ballots had been among the items stolen in that incident.

According to Berkeleyside’s report, the mail truck was robbed on October 9 at about 4 pm on the 3100 block of King Street. That information was confirmed by U.S. Postal Inspector Matthew Norfleet. But Berkeleyside also notes that the Berkeley Police acknowledged that the person who phoned in the robbery (likely a postal carrier) said that ballots were among the mail items stolen.

Law enforcement considered it unlikely that stealing ballots was the motivation here, someone probably just wanted to steal mail for financial gain, and perhaps ended up with ballots and a bunch of election mailer ads to boot. But the affected voters worried that someone could dishonestly vote in their name, and cancel out their legitimate vote in the process.  

"If somebody had a mind to, they could just vote fraudulently for everyone on the block," Berkeley resident Julie Chervin told NBC Bay Area.

That outlet spoke to several county election authorities who were adamant that there were many safeguards in place to prevent such fraudulent voting. Signatures on the backs of envelopes are checked for consistently with signatures on record, and mail-in ballots have barcodes to monitor their delivery, for whatever that is worth if the ballot has been stolen.

"The security around this process is extraordinary. California has one of the best procedures in place," Alameda County registrar Tim Dupuis told NBC Bay Area.

Dupuis also noted in his remarks to Berkeleyside that anyone who suspects their mail-in ballot has been stolen can report it as such to their county Registrar of Voters (in Berkeley, that phone number is 510-272-6973). You can also check the status of your mail-in ballot online to see if it’s been delivered.

You can also just head off and vote ASAP at a county elections center. Here are Alameda County’s elections centers, and San Francisco Couny’s election center is on the ground floor at SF City Hall.

Related: Outrage Grows Over Postal Carrier Robberies After Armed Robber Sentenced to Only 30 Days in Jail [SFist]

Image: SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 21: Election materials are displayed on a table at the Santa Clara County registrar of voters office on October 21, 2024 in San Jose, California. Early voting for the 2024 Presidential election began on October 7th in California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)