The Facts

Some San Francisco ballot packets arrived with torn outer envelopes, but voters can still use the ballots if the contents are intact, reports Aidin Vaziri at the San Francisco Chronicle. The Department of Elections says postal processing equipment caused the tears and the U.S. Postal Service switched remaining packets to manual processing. As of October 7, officials reported no damaged ballots or evidence of tampering; the number of affected envelopes was unknown.

The Context

Check your packet for four ballot cards, a postage-paid return envelope, and an instruction insert with an “I Voted” sticker. The damaged outer envelope is separate from the envelope you use to return your vote.

If anything is missing or damaged, request a replacement through the Voter Portal or contact Elections at 415-558-6100. Sign the return envelope. You can use one of the city’s 37 official drop boxes, open around the clock until 8 p.m. on November 3, rather than mailing your ballot.

The GrowSF Take

Hey, mistakes happen, and we're glad the post office addressed the problem promptly. We have full faith and trust in the Department of Elections and the U.S. Postal Service to run this election well.