Overview
- Ellsworth reported 250 absentee ballots missing on Sept. 30, the same day a Newburgh resident said she found five sealed bundles of ballots in an Amazon box.
- State election detectives secured the ballots and are leading a criminal probe with the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Maine Attorney General’s Office, and State Police.
- Officials say the tally matches but have not confirmed the ballots found in Newburgh are the ones missing from Ellsworth, and the finder has not been publicly identified.
- The Secretary of State says the discovered ballots cannot be used to cast votes, and Ellsworth has received 250 replacements to restore its allocation.
- The episode has become a flashpoint ahead of Maine’s Nov. 4 vote that includes a photo ID referendum, after a conservative outlet first publicized the discovery and Republican leaders sought a federal inquiry.