Were 675 ballots for former Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt found in a dumpster in "San Recto"? No, that's not true: San Recto is not a city or community in California. Lead Stories found no credible news reports or other reliable evidence that such an incident occurred, and the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk's office likewise found no evidence supporting the claim.
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) by the @PaulGoldEagle account on X on June 13, 2026. It read:
BREAKING: 675 ballots for Spencer Pratt found in a dumpster in San Recto. Federal authorities are on scene.Let the games begin
H/T [hat tip to] Christian Cole
This is what the post looked like on X at the time of writing:
(Image source: post by @PaulGoldEagle on X.)
Nonexistent community
San Recto does not exist. Lead Stories searched Google Maps (archived here) and found no match. A red box in the upper left corner highlights the search term "San Recto, California," but results only came back for the state, not a city or community name:
(Image source: Google Maps.)
Lead Stories contacted the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk's office about the post's claim that votes for Pratt were found in a dumpster. Michael Sanchez, a spokesperson for the office, responded in a June 15, 2026, email:
This appears to be another attempt to spread disinformation on social media. No, there is no truth to this.
Lead Stories searched Google News (archived here) and Yahoo! News (archived here) and did not find any matching reports for "San Recto," "Spencer Pratt," and "675 ballots." If there had been such an incident, there would likely have been widespread news coverage.
