King County Elections recovered 92 undelivered ballots after two bins containing election mail were found in dumpsters at Golden Gardens Park in Seattle's Ballard neighbourhood, the county agency said on Thursday, October 22. The agency said it has reissued all of the ballots to the voters they belonged to.
Source: Seattle Focal / King County Elections
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service has been notified and is investigating how the election materials ended up in the dumpsters, according to reporting by FOX 13 Seattle and KIRO 7 News cited by STL.News. Seattle police searched 26 additional trash bins across two parking lots at the waterfront park and found no additional ballots.
Source: STL.News via FOX 13 Seattle and KIRO 7
What officials have — and have not — established
Investigators have not publicly established whether the ballots were stolen, improperly discarded, or abandoned in some other way, and election officials have cautioned against assuming the incident was a deliberate effort to interfere with voting. King County Elections indicated that general mail theft is one possible explanation, with ballots sometimes discarded when thieves take mail for other purposes, FOX 13 Seattle reported.
The ballots were described as undelivered, not as completed votes that had been cast. No arrest, suspect, or final explanation had been publicly announced in the reporting reviewed.
92 ballots recovered from two bins at Golden Gardens Park • All 92 reissued to the affected voters • Seattle police checked 26 more bins and found no more ballots • U.S. Postal Inspection Service is investigating • General election is November 3
Why it matters in a mail-voting state
Washington conducts elections primarily by mail. King County Elections began mailing ballots on October 14 and advised residents their materials should arrive between October 15 and October 19, so the discovery came after the expected delivery window. Voters can return completed ballots through official drop boxes or vote centres, and residents who have not received their materials can contact King County Elections at 206-296-8683 to request a replacement and track their ballot.
What is solid
- 92 undelivered ballots were recovered from two bins in dumpsters at Golden Gardens Park, Seattle.
- King County Elections reissued all 92 ballots to the affected voters.
- Seattle police searched 26 additional bins and found no additional ballots.
- The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is investigating.
What is only claimed
- How the ballots ended up in the dumpsters — theft, mishandling, or deliberate interference — has not been established by investigators.