A poll courier in Minnesota has been terminated from their position for leaving thousands of ballots unattended in an open car trunk outside Edina City Hall, located southwest of Minneapolis.
On Friday, a worker was in the midst of delivering boxes of ballots when an incident occurred. A photo of the trunk, with the unsecured boxes scattered inside, quickly gained traction on social media.
Supporters of former President Donald Trump and local Republican Party leaders recently shared an image that raised concerns about the safety of mail-in voting. However, Hennepin County officials have stated that there is “no evidence of tampering” in relation to the image.
Edina City Hall surveillance footage was recently released by officials, revealing that there was no interference with the ballots during the approximately nine minutes that they were left unattended.
County officials wasted no time in issuing statements to clarify the situation and combat the spread of misinformation regarding the security of elections.
The county admitted that there was a mistake in following the proper protocol, and they acknowledge that it should not have happened and is not acceptable.
They have taken corrective actions to ensure that this does not happen again in the future. The county has also confirmed that the driver responsible for the lapse has been terminated from their position.
According to officials, they confirmed that every single ballot was accounted for and that they remained in their sealed condition.
Hennepin County Auditor Daniel Rogan expressed his strong disapproval of leaving ballots unattended, stating that such a practice is completely unacceptable.
“Hennepin County is taking steps to strengthen its transfer protocols among county staff and vendors,” he emphasized. “Instances like this highlight the importance of robust chain-of-custody procedures, enabling us to proactively address risks and ensure the integrity of the process.”
For years, Trump has consistently made false assertions regarding the prevalence of fraud in mail-in voting. Despite experts affirming the security of this voting method, which includes paper trails and redundant safeguards.
According to CNN, the votes that were left in the vehicle were deposited by voters in dropboxes. Election workers collect these ballots and transport them to offices for processing. Trump and numerous Republicans have expressed their opposition to the use of dropboxes, citing concerns about potential fraud and manipulation.
Incidents involving dropboxes or any other voting method have been limited, and there is no substantial evidence to support claims of widespread fraud.
The city stated that the car had already been utilized to collect ballots from various cities before transporting them to Edina.
