This story will be updated.
NEWBURGH, Maine — Law enforcement is investigating an allegation that a private resident in Newburgh received hundreds of 2025 Maine election ballots in the mail, a state election official said.
The claims were published by the Maine Wire, the conservative media arm of the Maine Policy Institute, and stirred controversy before authorities had determined the facts of the strange allegation. The Wire article cited an unnamed woman who said she found the ballots in a package delivered to her home, and included pictures of a cardboard Amazon box containing multiple stacks of 2025 election ballots sealed in plastic, along with a package of rice, a toy lightsaber and paper bowls.
“We are aware of the serious allegations that packages of ballots were received by a private citizen. Law enforcement is investigating the matter,” said Jana Spaulding, a spokesperson for the Maine Department of the Secretary of State.
It was not immediately clear which law enforcement agency was leading the investigation. Katie Flores, the Newburgh town manager who also serves as the town clerk, declined to comment when a Bangor Daily News reporter visited the town office.
One photo posted by the Wire shows a shipping label with a Penobscot County woman’s name and address. When a BDN reporter contacted her by phone, she said she had no comment and hung up.
Maine House Republican leaders issued a statement Wednesday morning claiming the woman’s story was evidence of vulnerabilities in Maine’s election systems and reiterated support for a voter ID referendum that will go before voters in the November election.
