More Undelivered Mail-In Ballots Found Dumped in a Kentucky Dumpster
Over 100 absentee ballots found abandoned in Jefferson County
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Officials in Kentucky have discovered a batch of over 100 mail-in voting ballots in a dumpster, according to reports.
A contractor in Jefferson County found 112 dumped absentee ballots, triggering an investigation by federal authorities.
The ballots had not been opened or filled out and never even made it to their intended recipients.
Two political fliers were also found among the dumped ballots during investigations into the matter, special agents from the U.S. Postal Service's Office of the Inspector General revealed.
"When the investigation is concluded, the case will be presented for federal prosecution to the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” Special Agent Scott Balfour said in a statement.
Balfour said that the ballots and fliers were turned over to USPS so they could be delivered, according to the Associated Press.
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He noted that incidents such as this have been "exceedingly rare."
According to Nore Ghibaudy, spokesman for the Jefferson County clerk’s office, voters who have not received absentee ballots by Oct. 28 can vote in person at any polling site if they sign an affidavit stating that they never received their ballot.
The news comes days after two postal workers in Pennsylvania were charged with federal offenses as federal prosecutors said heaps of undelivered mail were discovered in the trash.
While no ballots were found among the mail, two mail-in ballot requests were recovered.
Just last week, a USPS mailman from New Jersey was also arrested for allegedly dumping mail-in election ballots in a dumpster.
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Nicholas Beauchene, 26, of Kearny, was charged by federal authorities last Wednesday, accused of throwing away mail he was assigned to deliver on his route in recent days.
Beauchene allegedly dumped more than 1,800 pieces of mail into dumpsters, including 99 election ballots.
Beauchene was charged with one count of delay, secretion, or detention of mail and one count of obstruction of mail.
The first offense could land him in prison for up to 5 years with a $250,000 fine, and the second is punishable by up to 6 months behind bars and $5,000 in fines.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly railed against mail-in voting, predicting the system will be a “mess.”
