Lincoln post office box vandalism not tied to election, officials say
Four U.S. Postal Service boxes were pried open over the same weekend earlier this month, according to Lincoln Police, but there's no evidence it has any tie to the election
In the run-up to an election that's been fraught with claims of security issues, Lancaster County Election Commissioner Todd Wiltgen said he was notified about the incidents by Lancaster County Commissioner Matt Schulte.
Schulte, a Republican, said he was notified about the thefts from a constituent, one of a group of people who have regularly attended County Board meetings to express election security concerns and wanted to make sure Wiltgen was aware of it.
The Post Office collection boxes were pried open, or someone attempted to, at 5301 Red Rock Lane, near 56th Street and Pine Lake Road; 6040 Village Drive in Williamsburg, 6240 Platte Ave. in Havelock and 1201 Calvert St. sometime between Oct. 19-21.
Wiltgen said he spoke to a U.S. Postal customer services representative representing Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota who said there's no evidence that the thieves were targeting ballots. Wiltgen said he was told they ransacked the mail, apparently looking for cash or checks.
"According to the Post Office, that is the M.O. for thieves looking for things of value," he said.
In the last year, the postal service has pledged to combat what it says is the rising theft of Americans' mail. A U.S. Postal Service spokesman contacted about the Lincoln incidents said the Postal Service doesn't comment on ongoing investigations and referred a reporter to a website about election mail security.
Lincoln police took reports of the four incidents, and spokeswoman Erika Thomas said they are among eight incidents this year and one last year, though she cautioned that wasn't an exhaustive list. Officers may identify such incidents differently, so what keywords are used in reports can affect what incidents show up.
In addition to those four incidents this year, an LPD search also turned up three incidents at the Red Rock post office reported by people who said they'd dropped off items there that they discovered had been stolen, though it's unclear from the reports where the items went missing. Another incident in July at that Post Office indicated a collection box was pried open. The one incident the LPD search turned up in 2023 was a collection box in north Lincoln.
Since well before these incidents, Wiltgen encouraged voters to use the Election Commission drop boxes. His concerns were largely related to the timing, since the commission has no control over how long it will take the Postal Service to deliver them.
But he said the drop boxes are also more secure. They have cameras installed on them, as well as fire suppression devices. And fewer people are involved – they're emptied daily by two staff members from different political parties, who bring them back to the office, where they're recorded and stored.
The drop boxes are located at the Election Commissioner's Office, 601 N. 46th St., and four city library branches: Gere, Eiseley, Walt and Anderson.
Another note: Voters who want to know whether their early vote ballot was delivered and accepted by the election commissioner's office can check online at the Nebraska Secretary of State's voter-lookup site: www.votercheck.necvr.ne.gov/VoterView .
Contact the writer at or 402-473-7226. On Twitter at Love Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.
Local government reporter
