OAN Staff Addie Davis
4:28 PM – Thursday, May 7, 2026
The Humboldt County Office of Elections announced that staff found 596 uncounted ballots from the November 4, 2025, redistricting special election in California, according to a press release.
Staff discovered the sealed ballots in a locked drop box on Monday, and the office confirmed they had not been tampered with. There was reportedly a miscommunication at the time about whether or not the box had been fully emptied.
The office said it is working in tandem with the California Secretary of State to determine next steps, stating it will “explore every available option to get these votes counted.”
Both the state and the office confirmed that counting the ballots would not change the result of the November 4th election, per the release.
Humboldt County Clerk-Recorder and Registrar of Voters Juan Pablo Cervantes said an election worker had not followed proper procedures, but he ultimately took the responsibility.
“This discovery highlights why strong systems, redundancy and clear accountability must be in place at every step in the election process. In this case, those safeguards were not sufficient. That responsibility is mine and I am deeply sorry,” Cervantes said.
He and the office stated that a new procedure has been put in place to ensure the error does not occur again.
According to data provided by the state, 47,540 people voted in the special election in Humboldt County, which means the missing ballots make up just over 1% of the total votes in the county.
“We ask a lot of voters. We ask you to participate, to trust the process and to believe that your vote will be counted. 596 voters did exactly what we asked of them, and we fell short,” Cervantes said.
“We will be pursuing all legal avenues to get your ballots counted,” he added.
The office noted that according to the state’s elections code, all ballots from the special election must be destroyed six months after it was certified.
Proposition 50, passed by Golden State voters in the November 4th special election, was a mid-decade redistricting measure that would allow the state to redraw congressional district maps, which are expected to give Democrats a net gain of seats in the House.
The measure claimed it was in response to Texas’ new congressional maps, which gave Republicans an extra five seats before the 2026 midterms. Unlike in the Lone Star State, California required a vote from the population to pass the proposition.
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