California IN BRIEF : RIVERSIDE : Vote Counters Burned by Ballots

Police are continuing to investigate an incident in which two election workers were burned by an unknown caustic substance as they opened and counted absentee ballots at the Riverside County registrar of voters office last Saturday. “We’ve confiscated empty envelopes and residue of a blue crystalline substance,” said Riverside Police Sgt. James Cannon. “It’s an open investigation.” Authorities said vote counters Cynthia Henry and Michelle Nasiadka were pulling absentee ballots out of envelopes when their hands came in contact with a substance on one of the ballots. Several minutes later, their arms began to itch. The workers were treated at Riverside Community Hospital and released.