(FOX 5/KUSI) — With the special election for San Diego County’s District 1 supervisor nearing its close, a Chula Vista woman is raising concerns about ballot security after a man claiming to be a “vote harvester” appeared at her doorstep.
Tina Sheffield said the man showed up at her home around 3 p.m. on June 25 and asked her husband, Joseph, for their completed ballots. Sheffield said the interaction made her uncomfortable — and suspicious — even though the man may not have broken any laws.
“He identified himself as a vote harvester, and I thought, what does that even mean?” Sheffield said.
Her husband initially handed over her ballot, but Sheffield quickly stepped in to retrieve it from the man’s hand.
“I said, ‘Oh, that’s not necessary. I can handle it myself,’” she said.
The man offered to show his driver’s license and carried a clipboard and a lanyard with what appeared to be some type of identification. Sheffield said he told her he would receive “kudos and a bonus” for collecting ballots — a comment that further alarmed her.
“That made it sound even fishier to me,” she said. “I said, ‘No thank you. I can handle it myself.’”
The San Diego County Registrar of Voters confirmed that it is legal for campaign workers to collect ballots from voters who are unable to return them, as long as the ballots are delivered to election officials. However, the registrar strongly encourages voters to return ballots through trusted sources such as family members, friends or by using official drop boxes.
“We’ve lived here about 30 years, and I’ve never had this happen,” Sheffield said. “I’ve had candidates come to the door to ask for our votes, but never someone trying to collect the actual ballots.”
Neither Chula Vista Mayor John McCann nor Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre — the two candidates in the closely contested race — said they recognized the man. Aguirre’s campaign said they do send canvassing teams door to door, but never ask voters for their ballots unless explicitly requested to do so.
Sheffield said the experience has shaken her trust in the process.
“I thought it was very scary. I felt very threatened by it,” she said. “You don’t know who these people are or what they might do to get a vote — to compromise it or throw it away.”
The registrar urges voters to mail in their ballots or drop them off at any official ballot box to ensure their vote is counted safely and securely.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
