California couple finds absentee ballots dumped near their home twice in one month

(NBC) - It's a discovery that's got Bernice and Wardell Chavis outraged. For the second time this month the couple has found remnants of mail-in-ballots tossed in the gutter near their Vallejo, California home.

"Ballots in the street...we said 'No this should not be here,'" said Wardell Chavis.

Two weeks ago while out for a walk the couple found three soggy ballots in the gutter.

Then last week, in the very same spot, they discovered a voter's envelope with the ballot missing.

"I'm appalled," said Bernice Chavis. "I don't care whether it's a Republican or Democrat or Independent. These people voted. They're Americans and they voted and they have a right to vote and their vote has to be counted."

Solano County's Deputy Registrar of Voters John Gardner said ballot tampering is a federal offense.

He said his office will contact the postal service to look into the matter.

"The ballots and envelopes we receive in our office are usually in pristine shape," said Gardener. "A situation like this is extreme."

Gardner said his office is doing all it can to contact the impacted voters.

He also advises voters who are concerned their mail-in ballot may have been intercepted to contact their county elections office to check the status.

Meanwhile, the Chavis's are worried more voters ballots could have been tossed.

"We don't know how many more they have done this to. If they have done it to the four we've found, how many more have they done it to?," said Mr. Chavis.

The couple says they're not taking any chances with their own mail-in ballots.

They plan to deliver them to the Solano County Elections Office in person.