Amazon said it had nothing to do with hundreds of Maine ballots allegedly showing up in an Amazon box at a home in Newburgh.
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said a Newburgh woman claims she received 250 blank Maine absentee ballots in an Amazon box on Sept. 30. The package appeared to have been opened and resealed.
The state says the ballots were found the same day the town of Ellsworth reported it was missing a shipment of 250 absentee ballots.
Bellows said the woman’s Republican legislator and a conservative blogger were notified of the incident on Sept. 30, but not anyone in her office or law enforcement.
The blogger contacted a staffer at the Maine secretary of state’s office about the incident at 1:31 a.m. on Oct. 1.
Bellows said the Newburgh Town Office then reached out to her office at 8 a.m. on Oct. 1 about receiving the ballots.
Amazon said that, based on its findings, it appears the package was tampered with outside its fulfillment and delivery network, not by an Amazon employee or partner.
During a press conference on Monday, Bellows warned that any “bad actors” who may have been involved in the incident would be caught and punished.
“To any bad actors involved, you will be caught and you will be punished. You obviously didn’t understand the checks and balances in Maine elections if you thought you could stop absentee voting or shake our faith in fair and free elections,” Bellows said.
Bellows said law enforcement, including the FBI, is investigating the incident.
