A woman in Newburgh, Maine, who placed an Amazon order for coffee, rice and paper plates was astonished when the box arrived stuffed with 250 unused state election ballots, according to a report.
The shopper, who preferred not to be identified, told ABC News she believed her package had been opened and retaped before it arrived at her door, suggesting it may have been tampered with after leaving the retail giant’s regional depot.
She explained that she had passed it on to the office of the Newburgh town clerk via law enforcement.
The Independent has reached out to Amazon for comment.
The mystery comes just days before voters in her state can begin voting by mail on a referendum about tightening restrictions on absentee voting.
Maine has one of the highest voter participation rates in the U.S.
Shenna Bellows, its secretary of state, has said she is investigating the incident and said in a statement: “Safe and secure elections are my top priority. As soon as we became aware of allegations of ballots being received outside of the appropriate chain of custody, I immediately initiated an investigation through my secretary of state’s law enforcement division.
“Law enforcement is working diligently to determine who is responsible, and they will be held accountable. We will not stop until we have answers.”
The state’s House Republican Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham has since called on U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel to launch federal investigations of their own.
“The discovery of hundreds of authentic state ballots in a private Amazon delivery is beyond alarming,” Faulkingham said in a statement of his own.
“At a time when Maine people are being asked to weigh in on whether to adopt the same common-sense Voter ID standards used in 36 other states, this shocking breach exposes how vulnerable our elections really are.
“When ballots appear in household shipments of rice and toys, trust is shattered. Mainers deserve answers, accountability, and immediate action.”
Alex Titcomb, a local election reform campaigner, said the incident was a perfect illustration of just why voting regulations need to be tightened.
“This is a stunning breach of election security that no free state can tolerate,” he said.
