The Region : Impostors Steal 245 Ballots at Pacoima

People posing as election officials took about 245 ballots from a Pacoima polling place, authorities said. The ballots were returned hours later to the Los Angeles County registrar’s office by a man who said he was a “Yes on Proposition V” spokesman, an election official said. The man quickly left the office. The Los Angeles County district attorney’s Special Investigations Division was trying to determine whether the ballots were tampered with. Authorities said eight people appeared at a polling station at 10608 Telfair Ave. and said they were election officials who were supposed to take the ballots to a collection station. Sheriff’s deputies who were authorized to pick up the ballots arrived minutes later. “We think it might be a prank,” said Los Angeles Police Detective Robert Stemples. “Just an outrageous, illegal prank.” Proposition V was a Los Angeles city ballot measure calling for a reduction in federal military spending and the use of those funds for community needs.