Hundreds of absentee ballots have gone missing in Detroit days before the presidential election. City officials say they are nowhere to be found.
“They swept the entire building and they did not find anything out of the ordinary. In other words, they didn’t find any stacks of ballots that weren’t being processed in the mail,” Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey told 7 Action News.
A documented 500 ballots were reported missing by voters who called the city clerk’s office with concerns. Winfrey says there is a solution to the rather unusual case.
“We’ll have them sign an affidavit saying they’re going to spoil the ballot that’s somewhere in the mail and then we issue them another ballot right there that they can vote right there in the vote center.”
With a handful of days left until the election, time is of the essence when sending in absentee ballots. Detroit has 23 voting centers open daily and 30 drop boxes for where voters can drop off their Absentee Ballots.
The United States Postal Service issued the following statement regarding the missing ballots:
“With a record number of people across the country voting by mail, the U.S. Postal Service’s number one priority between now and the November election is the secure, timely delivery of the nation’s Election Mail.
“Regarding ballots in Detroit, the Postal Service has been made aware of a number of ballots that have not been delivered as anticipated and is researching the issue. Extensive clearance processes were employed at all facilities to confirm that all ballots were processed and delivered as received by the Postal Service.
“We are working with the city election clerk to quickly deliver replacement ballots, and ensure the timely delivery of all other ballots in the area for the remainder of the election season. We continue to work with the Detroit City Board of Election and look forward to the successful Election Day.”
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