Washington New
King County Elections says two bins of stolen mail found in a dumpster at Golden Gardens Park held 92 undelivered ballots on their way to voters, and it has already sent every one of those voters a new ballot.
The rumor: False “Ballots found in a Seattle park dumpster prove mail voting is not secure.”
The facts: Dumped mail is not proof of rigging: the county says thieves usually are not after ballots, and leaving them behind fits that. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is investigating. If your ballot has not arrived, call King County Elections at 206-296-8683 or request a replacement online.
How this story developed
- King County Elections confirmed 92 undelivered ballots in two bins of stolen mail found in a Golden Gardens Park dumpster, reissued all of them, and referred the case to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Seattle police searched 26 more bins and found no other ballots.
Sources
- KING 5: 92 undelivered ballots found in Golden Gardens dumpster, Oct 22 News report Checked
- KOMO: Voter reported bins, county reissued all 92 ballots, Oct 22 News report Checked Archived copy
- KIRO 7: Police checked 26 bins, postal inspectors investigating, Oct 22 News report Checked Archived copy
- FOX 13 Seattle: County says ballots are rarely the target of mail theft, Oct 22 News report Checked Archived copy