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Los Angeles, California – The Mayor of Baldwin Park estimates 60-100 ballots were damaged when someone started a fire inside of an official ballot drop box Sunday night.
A person purposely started a fire inside of a drop box near Baldwin Park and Ramona Blvds Sunday night around 8 PM.
WATCH:
The mayor of Baldwin Park estimates 60-100 ballots were damaged when someone started a fire inside an official drop box last night. (📷 George Silva) @CBSLA pic.twitter.com/RqmM0gB86T
— Tina Patel (@tina_patel) October 19, 2020
ABC 7 reported:
Firefighters say someone purposely tossed burning newspaper into the official drop box. One passerby told Eyewitness News the box looked like a chimney with smoke billowing out of it.
Arson investigators have not yet released information about how many ballots were destroyed. Mayor Manuel Lozano said he believes there were close to 100 ballots in the box at the time of the incident that were burnt or wet.
“People are frustrated across the country, it’s no different in Baldwin Park,” Lozano said. “The incident that happened…does send a very bad message, as it is, the frustration with the voting box and then this occurs.”
Fire crews say they did their best to save as many ballots as possible.
The ballot will be sent to the registrar’s office, officials say.
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