State and federal authorities in Maine are investigating a jaw-dropping case of 250 blank ballots that were delivered to a voter in an Amazon box.
The inexplicable oversight is casting a pall over the office of Shenna Bellows, the Democratic secretary of state who last year attempted to keep President Donald Trump off Maine’s presidential ballot. Authorities were made aware after the ballots were reported missing by the town of Ellsworth, and a resident later called to report that her unanticipated Amazon delivery contained them.
The box appeared to have been opened and retaped when it arrived, the woman told investigators.
“Safe and secure elections are my top priority. As soon as we became aware of allegations of ballots being received outside of the appropriate chain of custody, I immediately initiated an investigation through my Secretary of State’s law enforcement division. Law enforcement is working diligently to determine who is responsible, and they will be held accountable. We will not stop until we have answers,” Bellows said in a statement to ABC News.
“This year, it seems that there may have been attempts to interrupt the distribution of ballots and ballot materials,” Bellows said later at a press conference.
“I have full confidence that law enforcement will determine who is responsible, and any bad actor will be held accountable,” she added.
Voters in Maine go to the polls on Nov. 4, when Republican-backed initiatives to implement voter ID and reduce the use of ballot drop boxes will be on the ballot.
“What this means is that Mainers need to turn out in force, and every single person that supports voter ID and securing our elections needs to get out and vote between now and Nov. 4 to ensure that we secure our elections,” said Republican state Rep. Laurel Libby in a statement, according to The Associated Press.
Maine Republicans have called on U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to launch a separate federal investigation. The state’s FBI division is currently assisting Bellows’ office in tracing the path and custody of the missing ballots.
“The discovery of hundreds of authentic state ballots in a private Amazon delivery is beyond alarming,” said House Republican Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham in a statement.
Amazon, meanwhile, stated that it is not responsible for the delivery of the ballots.
“Based on our initial findings, it appears that this package was tampered with outside of our fulfillment and delivery network, and not by an Amazon employee or partner,” the company said in a statement to Fox News, adding it is cooperating with the investigation.
, 2025-10-07 13:44:00, 
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