Teacher reports finding ballot box left behind at Broward polling place

[grantcart]

Source: Sun-Sentinel

Teacher Lakeisha Sorey says she discovered a locked ballot box at Sunshine Elementary School in Miramar.

Sorey said she found the box about 3 p.m. Thursday, in the same area where voting had been held, and knew not to meddle with it.


“I didn’t want to touch it,” Sorey said.

Her discovery came as several statewide races hang in the balance, with elections officials in Broward and Palm Beach counties still counting votes on Thursday.


Read more: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/fl-ne-ballots-found-box-broward-20181108-story.html

[groundloop]

1. Possibly (hopefully) no big deal.... from the article:

But on Thursday night, a spokesman from the elections office said the box holds supplies — not ballots.

The box is used to hold provisional ballots on Election Day, but when the polls close the ballots are transferred to an orange zippered bag and taken to the elections warehouse in Lauderhill, said Dozel Spencer, director of voting equipment center operations.


Still.... it makes you wonder.

[iluvtennis]

2. +++ agree, it makes you wonder. Controls need to beefed up if you're leaving elections related boxes

around.

[mwooldri]

4. It does make me wonder.

I'm used to ballot boxes being sealed before any ballots are put in it, and then transported as-is to the count. Opening up a ballot box on site and transferring the contents to an orange bag still opens questions as to whether those votes are counted or not. Who witnessed this? Did all the papers get transferred? To me, it opens up the possibility of vote rigging (removal or addition of ballots).

So I can fully understand the teacher's concern to see a ballot box at her school after election day. It isn't supposed to be there, provisional votes or otherwise.

As a Brit who is more familiar with the UK method (paper ballots, count by hand) it certainly is weird that this happens and does not inspire me to believe that the Floridians have sorted out the integrity of their elections.

[CentralMass]

3. I csn remember stuff like t.f his happening in past Florida elections.

I can recall that years ago they found a couple of locked ballot boxes in a car that had not been delivered.