US Woman Receives Amazon Package Containing 250 Unmarked Absentee Ballots; Investigation Underway
Maine authorities and the FBI investigate after 250 unmarked absentee ballots were found in an Amazon package. Amazon confirms the package may have been tampered with externally.
Authorities in Maine are investigating 250 unmarked absentee ballots found in an Amazon delivery package ahead of the November election.
Authorities in Maine, with the help of the FBI, are investigating an unusual incident involving 250 unmarked absentee ballots being found inside a woman's Amazon delivery package. The ballots for the coming-November election had gone missing from Ellsworth, and then they had been found in Newburgh, which is about 40 miles away.
Amazon has claimed that the package was most likely compromised externally and that it is cooperating fully with the investigation.
"Based on our initial findings, it appears that this package was tampered with outside of our fulfillment and delivery network, and not by an Amazon employee or partner," the company told AP.
What Maine Officials Are Saying
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows confirmed that state law enforcement, with FBI support, is actively investigating the matter. The identity of the package recipient has not been disclosed.
Bellows expressed confidence in law enforcement efforts:
“I have full confidence that law enforcement will determine who is responsible, and any bad actor will be held accountable. It seems there may have been attempts to interrupt the distribution of ballots and ballot materials.”
The investigation comes as absentee voting is already underway for the November 4 election, which includes a Republican-backed initiative proposing voter photo ID requirements, limits on drop box usage, and changes to absentee voting procedures.
Maine’s Republican leadership in the Democratic-controlled Legislature has requested a federal investigation, addressing a letter to US Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel. The individual who received the ballots reported the discovery to their local town office.
