Overview
- Voters in multiple San Francisco neighborhoods posted photos of outer mailing envelopes ripped or slit open, prompting the Department of Elections to investigate.
- Election officials say the damage appears limited to the outer envelope and that ballots remain usable if the packet still contains four ballot cards, a postage‑paid return envelope, and the instruction insert.
- The U.S. Postal Service told the Elections Department the tears likely occurred while packets moved through processing equipment and it has moved the rest of the city’s mailings to manual processing.
- There are no confirmed reports of actual ballots being damaged or spoiled and no evidence of tampering so far, but officials have not disclosed how many envelopes were affected or how many went through machines before the change.
- Voters are urged to inspect their packets, request a replacement if interior materials are missing or torn, and consider using official drop boxes or vote centers to return completed ballots before 8 p.m. on Election Day.