Nearly 600 unopened ballots were discovered in a California county months after voters approved a statewide Democratic redistricting measure, with local election officials admitting they failed voters.
The Humboldt County Office of Elections said in a Wednesday press release that the 596 sealed but uncounted ballots did not impact the outcome of the Nov. 4 statewide special election, which centered on Proposition 50, a redistricting ballot measure pushed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democrats.
The ballots were found Monday inside a locked drop box, prompting county officials to say they had not been tampered with because the box was locked, and the ballots remained sealed. Officials said the error stemmed from a miscommunication over whether the drop box had been fully emptied before certification.
“While the mistake occurred after an election worker did not follow proper procedures, the responsibility for what happened ultimately sits with me. I did not have strong enough controls in place to prevent this, but we do now,” Humboldt County Clerk-Recorder and Registrar of Voters Juan Pablo Cervantes said in the news release. “We have taken corrective action and already updated our protocols. A new lock out, tag out procedure has been implemented for every ballot drop box to ensure each box is physically verified as empty and secured before election results are finalized.”
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While the ballots will not change the outcome of the November election, Humboldt County officials said they are still endeavoring to ensure all ballots get counted, apologizing to voters that they “fell short” of their duties.
“I promise you that we are taking this seriously,” Cervantes added. “We will strengthen our processes and continue pushing toward the standard our community expects and deserves.”
Proposition 50, championed by Newsom and California Democrats, allowed the state to temporarily use legislature-drawn congressional maps for the 2026, 2028 and 2030 elections instead of maps created by California’s independent redistricting commission.
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The measure came amid a national mid-decade redistricting fight, with Newsom and California Democrats arguing the state needed to counter GOP-led map changes in states such as Texas.
California’s normal redistricting process is handled by an independent commission, but Prop 50 created a temporary voter-approved exception allowing the state to use legislature-drawn congressional maps through 2030.
After the Supreme Court last week narrowed Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act in a Louisiana redistricting case, a ruling that could open the door for Republican-led states to pursue new maps that undercut Democratic redistricting gains in California and potential gains in states such as Virginia, California Democrats have faced pressure to consider going even further in response.
However, The Los Angeles Times reported Thursday that despite this urging for additional action, even after voters approved Prop 50, California Democrats have no intention of making an attempt to redraw the maps again before the midterms.
California Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks pointed out Democrats need to win the seats created under the state’s existing Prop 50 map they redrew last year.
“We have yet to fully win the seats in the map that was drawn in 2025. It seems a step too far to say we’re going to go back to the drawing board and redraw the map,” Hicks said, according to The Los Angeles Times.
“You all should pick up some seats. Let’s all do this together, because California cannot do it alone, it will take the rest of the country,” Hicks added, referring to pressure on Democratic-led states to counter Republican redistricting efforts nationwide.