A second theft involving California mail ballots has intensified concerns about election security after thieves took voters’ ballots from a post office in the Bay Area. The case follows a separate mail theft in Sacramento County about a week earlier.

The San Mateo County Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder’s Office said Thursday that it had been notified of election forms recently stolen from a US Postal Service office in Daly City. Among the stolen mail were ballots belonging to San Mateo County voters.

San Mateo County, located just south of San Francisco, is investigating alongside the US Postal Service. County officials said the number of stolen ballots remains unclear, leaving voters without a firm count as the inquiry proceeds.

The county’s election division urged residents to track the status of their ballots through the California Secretary of State’s website. Any voter who believes a ballot was affected can request a replacement ballot online.

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Officials also sought to reassure residents that safeguards are in place to prevent more than one ballot from being counted for the same voter. The county specifically pointed to its established ballot security and processing procedures.

“The Registration & Elections Division maintains established ballot security procedures to ensure that only one ballot per voter is counted,” the county said.

“Each Vote by Mail ballot is associated with an individual voter, and ballot processing safeguards prevent duplicate ballots from being counted for the same voter.”

The Daly City incident arrived roughly a week after a postal truck in Sacramento County was targeted by a thief. That earlier case was captured on video during a broad daylight mail heist.

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The footage showed a man arriving in a gray SUV before opening the rear compartment of the postal truck. He then escaped with trays of mail.

US Postal Inspector Jonathan Lanning confirmed that ballots may have been among the mail taken during the Sacramento County theft. The exact number of any ballots involved in that case was not provided.

The US Postal Inspection Service is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator in the Sacramento County case.

The two cases have put fresh attention on the handling of election mail while California’s early mail voting is underway. Ballots for the November election were sent to voters beginning Oct. 5.

Mail ballots must be postmarked by Election Day in order to be counted. Against that timeline, the back to back thefts have raised concerns about whether ballots moving through the mail will reach their intended destinations.

Those concerns also come amid efforts by President Donald Trump’s administration to restrict voting by mail. The latest incidents have heightened unease about the security of ballots sent through the postal system.

San Mateo County Supervisor David Canepa called for public confidence in the process and stronger safeguards for election mail. He also demanded a complete investigation and clear communication with residents.

“People need to have confidence that their vote-by-mail ballot will reach its intended destination, especially when it comes to something as fundamental as their right to vote,” Canepa told the Palo Alto Daily Post.

“We need a complete investigation, stronger protections for the mail, and straightforward communication with the public. With the midterm elections approaching, we cannot afford to leave residents wondering whether their ballots or other important mail are safe,” he added.

“This is simply unacceptable.”

For San Mateo County voters, officials have directed immediate attention toward tracking ballots and requesting replacements when necessary. Meanwhile, county and postal authorities continue investigating a theft whose full scope, including the total number of stolen ballots, remains unknown.

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