![[BREAKING] San Diego ballot box abandoned on street for over a week after Election Day: ‘Very alarming’](https://nypost.com/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2026%2F06%2Fsan-diego-county-ballot-drop-131089980_a0fef9.jpg?w%3D1024)
A San Diego County ballot drop box remained on the side of a road more than a week after Election Day, sparking alarm among locals who fear their votes may not have been properly collected.
The official ballot box was still standing Friday on Hilton Head Road near the entrance to Hilton Head County Park in Rancho San Diego, days after the June 2 election concluded.
One resident, Stephanie Melaney, said she was stunned to see the seemingly intact box when she first noticed it Thursday.
"To me, it was actually very alarming that there was still an urn here for so long and it hadn't been picked up," Melaney told CBS.
Their biggest concern was whether voters using the drop box could be sure their ballots had been picked up.
“If someone in the neighborhood places a ballot here, do you have any assurance that it was picked up or that it's still there?” he said.
The concern prompted a response from the San Diego County Registrar of Voters, which insisted the ballots had been secured on election night.
According to the office, the mailbox was available for use from May 5 to June 2 and was locked at 8 p.m.
on election day.
Election workers removed all ballots from the ballot boxes that same night, a spokesperson said.
Officials stressed that the container was empty and locked, although it remained there for days afterward.
The Recorder's Office said temporary mailboxes installed in county parks are typically removed between elections, but are secured with sturdy chains and anchored to concrete pads or other fixtures to prevent theft or tampering.
Election officials added that it is not unusual for some polls to remain in their locations for a period after voting ends and said the Rancho San Diego polling place was scheduled to be removed Friday afternoon.
Melaney, however, believes the box should have disappeared much sooner.
"They should have picked him up on June 2 in the afternoon," he said.
He also questioned whether the location (near a park entrance rather than a busy public building) was ideal.
The Recorder's Office defended the location, saying the design and location of all county mailboxes meet accessibility requirements and safety standards.
The same mailbox is expected to return before the Nov.
3 general election in San Diego County.
The official ballot box was still standing Friday on Hilton Head Road near the entrance to Hilton Head County Park in Rancho San Diego, days after the June 2 election concluded.
One resident, Stephanie Melaney, said she was stunned to see the seemingly intact box when she first noticed it Thursday.
"To me, it was actually very alarming that there was still an urn here for so long and it hadn't been picked up," Melaney told CBS.
Their biggest concern was whether voters using the drop box could be sure their ballots had been picked up.
“If someone in the neighborhood places a ballot here, do you have any assurance that it was picked up or that it's still there?” he said.
The concern prompted a response from the San Diego County Registrar of Voters, which insisted the ballots had been secured on election night.
According to the office, the mailbox was available for use from May 5 to June 2 and was locked at 8 p.m.
on election day.
Election workers removed all ballots from the ballot boxes that same night, a spokesperson said.
Officials stressed that the container was empty and locked, although it remained there for days afterward.
The Recorder's Office said temporary mailboxes installed in county parks are typically removed between elections, but are secured with sturdy chains and anchored to concrete pads or other fixtures to prevent theft or tampering.
Election officials added that it is not unusual for some polls to remain in their locations for a period after voting ends and said the Rancho San Diego polling place was scheduled to be removed Friday afternoon.
Melaney, however, believes the box should have disappeared much sooner.
"They should have picked him up on June 2 in the afternoon," he said.
He also questioned whether the location (near a park entrance rather than a busy public building) was ideal.
The Recorder's Office defended the location, saying the design and location of all county mailboxes meet accessibility requirements and safety standards.
The same mailbox is expected to return before the Nov.
3 general election in San Diego County.
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