Sandoval County Confirms Drug-Tainted Absentee Ballots Are All Clear and Will Be Counted, County Clerk Announces October 29
Sandoval County, New Mexico, confirmed on October 29 that the absentee ballots caught up in an October 16 drug incident are all clear and that none will be voided, so voters no longer need to worry that their ballots will be thrown out. County Clerk Anne Brady-Romero announced that day that the ballots had passed inspection and that the county's Absentee Ballot Board would fold them back into the count.
The incident began when election workers found drugs on ballots after a U.S. Postal Service mail container arrived at the county Bureau of Elections warehouse; initial tests came back positive for methamphetamine and fentanyl, raising concerns about whether the ballots could still be counted. The county then processed and examined the ballots and ultimately confirmed that the ballots themselves were fine.
Brady-Romero said every ballot involved will be counted and none will be excluded because of the incident. Early voting in Sandoval County began this week, and voters can still mail in absentee ballots, vote at a polling place, or use the county's secure drop boxes before polls close on Election Day, November 3. The county elections office reminds voters who have questions about their ballot status that they can check through the county website.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 桑多瓦尔县法院大楼，位于伯纳利洛 / The Sandoval County Court House in Bernalillo, New Mexico. Photo: AllenS, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
