‘Unacceptable’: County fires election worker after Republican spots ballot security lapse in realtime

Hennepin County, Minnesota, fired an election worker who left several boxes of mail-in ballots unattended after a local GOP group exposed the alleged negligence, according to a statement from county officials released Friday.

Minnesota Senate District 50 Republicans — the Republican Party’s official political unit for portions of Minnesota cities Edina and Bloomington — snapped a photo outside of Edina City Hall Friday showing a courier vehicle’s “rear door ajar with ballot transfer cases inside.” A review of parking lot surveillance footage found the ballots were not tampered with, and a comparison of the votes with the statewide voter registration system for absentee ballots found a perfect match.

“Hennepin County acknowledges that this lapse in protocol occurred, should not have happened, and is unacceptable,” the county’s statement reads. “Corrective actions have been taken by the county and its courier to prevent any recurrence. The county has confirmed the driver has been terminated.”

Do these ballots look secure to you? Photo outside Edina City Hall. @MNSteveSimon @GOPMNCD3 @MNCD5GOP @gop @EdinaMN @EdinaPatch @edinacityman @EdinaPolice @EdinaMag @lizcollin @AlphaNewsMN @Sd46G @SD50DFL @billglahn pic.twitter.com/SF03NMdpXL

— SD50MNGOP (@SD50MNGOP) October 18, 2024

Mail-in voting began in early September, with over 17 million Americans having already voted as of Monday. Critics of mail-in voting have raised concern regarding ballot delivery, with the National Association of State Election Directors and other officials writing a letter to the U.S. Postal Service Postmaster in September flagging potential challenges such as processing delays, lost or delayed election mail, and insufficient training.

“Election security is of utmost importance, and leaving ballots unattended is simply unacceptable,” Hennepin County Auditor Daniel Rogan said in the county’s statement regarding Friday’s incident. “Hennepin County is reinforcing its transfer protocols with county staff and vendors. An incident like this underscores the value of strong chain-of-custody processes so that risk can be addressed and integrity can be verified.”

Hennepin County and the Minnesota Senate District 50 Republicans did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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