Camas police have recovered a handful of stolen ballots from four mailboxes that were pried open Saturday.
Police responded to a report of dumped mail, which included ballots and other mail, near Klickitat Park on Prune Hill. The ballots were wet but still intact, and police returned the ballots to their owners, according to a news release from the Camas Police Department.
Police later discovered that four “community-style” mailboxes were pried open, and some mail had been stolen from each.
Officers found an additional three ballots later in the day Sunday and also returned them to the owners.
Investigators are seeking the public’s help to find the suspect, whose picture was captured on security cameras. The suspect drove a white sedan, but no other description was given.
Camas officers respond to multiple calls for stolen mail every year, according to the news release. The thieves are “generally looking for mail items that can be used for financial gain (checks, credit cards, personal info that can be used for opening fake charge accounts). In these cases, the unwanted mail is often dumped nearby, just as the ballots were in this case,” the news release stated.
Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey noted that signatures on cast ballots are verified by elections staff and that ballots can’t be counted twice.
“I guess I can only speculate that people were looking for something they could turn into cash, not for ballots,” Kimsey said.
Anyone with information regarding the investigation should call 311, or 360-834-4151, according to the news release.
