Postal inspectors in Washington, D.C. have now joined the investigation into completed ballots reportedly found down a ravine in the Santa Cruz mountains.
According to some of the people whose ballots were recovered, their ballots were delivered at the post office on Payne Avenue in west San Jose - which is now a starting point for the investigation.
Several voters said they mailed those ballots using the drive-thru mailbox at the aforementioned location because the post office lobby is closed on weekends. Now, that mail box is out of service.
Taking a closer look reveals the mailbox lock is missing.
Local post officials told NBC Bay Area they can't comment on specifics since it is now being headed up by postal officials in Washington, D.C.
Lou and Janet Witkin, who are two of the people whose ballots were found in the ravine, are grateful to know it's got attention from the top.
"Oh, I'm excited about it," said Janet. "I think it's great that they have taken this very seriously."
The National Postal Service told the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters it now has those ballots, is examining them and will return them on Friday.
However, the deadline for ballots to be in for the registrar to count them is today, Nov. 14.
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The registrar told NBC Bay Area the county counsel will review election laws to see if they recovered ballots can still be included.
"To think that our votes this time would not be counted does not pass very well with us," Janet said.
The Witkins also said if anyone wants to use this incident as some sort of example of faulty voting system, they reject that notion completely.
"We believe in the integrity and the professionalism of the election people," Lou said. "So we absolutely have not lost fait in any of those processes or any of the people that run them."
