A Newburgh, Maine, resident reportedly received a little something extra in her latest order from Amazon. The box, which appeared to have been opened and resealed, contained 250 blank ballots for the state’s upcoming election.
The Maine Wire reported:
The package arrived Tuesday looking beat up and re-taped, as if tampered with. Inside, along with household items, were bundles of ballots packaged in tamper-evident packs of 50 — the same format used for official shipments to local clerks. Election officials who reviewed photographs confirmed the documents appear to be authentic 2025 ballots.
Upon discovering the ballots, the woman immediately brought them to the town clerk’s office.
The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, told the media outlet, “I am greatly concerned for our state and its voting requirements.”
“When I opened it, there were 250 official State of Maine referendum ballots inside my box,” she said. “Thank goodness I am an honest citizen and immediately reached out to my town clerk and took the ballots to the town for safekeeping.”
ABC8 in Portland reported that Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat who tried to keep President Donald Trump’s name off the ballot in 2024, has opened an investigation into this matter. In a Wednesday statement, she assured voters:
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.
Somehow, given Bellows’ reputation for hyper partisanship, her remarks do little to inspire confidence.
Few officials are questioning the authenticity of the ballots. Since they have been in the custody of the Newburgh town clerk’s office since Tuesday — and with the Secretary of State’s office investigating how they left the chain of custody — it is reasonable to assume that, unless and until we hear otherwise, the ballots are genuine.
This is a disturbing story. It leaves us to wonder if others may have received blank ballots. And if so, how many will simply fill them out and deposit them at one of the state’s numerous ballot drop boxes instead of returning them to the town clerk.
This incident comes ahead of a pivotal election in which residents will decide whether to require voter identification in the state. The measure, known as “Question One,” has sharply divided Mainers along party lines.
According to the Maine Wire, the state’s Republican Party Chairman Jim Deyermond says this situation goes “beyond the realm of accidental,” and has called upon the U.S. Department of Justice “to assume jurisdiction over this matter immediately.”
Deyermond added, “This incident should be treated as a potential crime and a crime scene.”
If the ballots are authentic, and, so far officials are proceeding as if they are, then I agree with him. This is a serious issue.
The state’s Democratic Party Chairman, Charlie Dingman, on the other hand, opposes Voter ID laws. In a May text message to voters, he wrote that if this initiative is approved, “Democrats could lose as many as 13,000 votes in future statewide elections.”
That’s an extraordinary admission.
The Wire noted that if Dingman is correct, 13,000 fewer Democratic votes “could reshape control of the state and even the U.S. Congress.”
In the clip below, Bellows dodges a reporter’s question about the stray ballots on Thursday morning.
In the next clip, Bellows admits that it’s likely some non-citizens are registered to vote in the state.
Additionally, the Wire reported that Bellows has repeatedly refused to cooperate with the DOJ’s efforts to clean up Maine’s voting rolls.
Elizabeth writes commentary for Legal Insurrection and The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Please follow Elizabeth on X or LinkedIn.
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