By PATRICK WHITTLE
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Authorities in Maine are investigating an allegation that dozens of unmarked ballots that were to be used in this November’s election arrived inside a woman’s Amazon order.
The town of Ellsworth reported to the state last week that it was missing a shipment of 250 absentee ballots, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said Monday. That happened the same day a woman in a town roughly 40 miles away reported finding bundles of ballots — 250 in all — wrapped in plastic inside the box that contained her delivery from Amazon.
The secretary of state’s law enforcement division is investigating the discovery with assistance from the FBI and state authorities, Bellows said during a news conference at the state Capitol. She declined to identify the person who reported the ballots inside the delivery box, except to confirm she lived in the town of Newburgh.
“I have full confidence that law enforcement will determine who is responsible, and any bad actor will be held accountable,” she said, suggesting there could be other examples.
“This year, it seems that there may have been attempts to interrupt the distribution of ballots and ballot materials,” Bellows said, declining to elaborate.
The investigation into the wayward ballots is taking place less than a month before the state’s Nov. 4 election and with absentee voting already underway. The ballot includes a Republican-backed initiative that would implement a photo ID requirement for voters, limit the use of drop boxes and make changes to the state’s absentee voting system.
It also comes as Bellows, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in 2026, is clashing with the U.S. Department of Justice over its requests in numerous states for detailed voter roll information. The department has sued several states that have refused to turn over the data, including Maine.
Bellows has been a target of Republican ire in Maine since she removed President Donald Trump from the state’s 2024 presidential primary ballot under the Constitution’s insurrection clause. Trump appeared on the ballot after the U.S. Supreme Court intervened.
The story of the misplaced ballots has spread widely on social media since a conservative website in the state first reported it last week and has reignited claims by conservatives that Maine’s elections need to be more secure. Some prominent Republicans have used it to promote the need for the election-related ballot initiative.
“What this means is that Mainers need to turn out in force, and every single person that supports voter ID and securing our elections needs to get out and vote between now and Nov. 4 to ensure that we secure our elections,” said Republican state Rep. Laurel Libby, a supporter of the voter ID initiative.
Maine’s top Republicans in the Democratic-majority Legislature sent a letter last week to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel requesting an investigation into the claims. The letter states that the person who received the package, whom it does not name, informed their town office about the discovery.
Officials with the Justice Department and town of Newburgh declined to comment. Amazon said the company is cooperating with Maine’s 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 said in a statement to The Associated Press.
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