(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) Michigan police discovered almost 300 absentee ballots from the 2020 election that were found in a storage locker.
According to the Daily Wire, in August 2022, the ballots were discovered in a storage locker in Thetford Township but just disclosed after the town’s supervisor, Rachel Stanke, filed a freedom of information request and discussed the findings at a municipal meeting this week.
Michigan State Police stated that the ballots, which were found in a locker owned by the deputy town clerk, appear to mostly be spoiled.
It was important to bring the discovery to light so citizens could trust future elections, according to Stanke, who was tipped off in 2021 that some absentee ballots might be missing.
“That’s why I want to bring this to their attention,” she said. “And I want them to be able to make sure that their elections are run fairly and smoothly.”
Voters could be sent a new one or go pick one up if their absentee ballot is spoiled.
“Say they didn’t receive their ballot or they lost it or their dog ate it. They would have to come into the township and write a letter I believe show their ID and be issued a new ballot,” Stanke said.
She also said that the ballots had been accidentally stored at the facility by a former city employee.
“She was not aware when she was asked to store them in there. She thought they were old township documents,” Stanke said.
Members of the community want to make sure that future elections will be fair, Katie Hicks, a candidate for township clerk in 2020 who lost by just 19 votes, said.
“Now this is all coming out and… I’m kind of happy that it’s coming out because the election is right around the corner again,” she said. “And it concerns me that this will take place again in 2024.”
