Michigan’s Second-Largest City Lost An Entire Tray Of Mail Ballots
In Grand Rapids, Michigan, a significant issue has arisen concerning the loss of a tray containing absentee ballots. City Clerk Joel Hondorp reported to The Federalist that voters were calling the office, expressing concerns about not receiving their ballots. The missing tray, which potentially holds around 300 ballots, may have reached the post office, but the exact whereabouts are still unknown. Hondorp mentioned that his office is collaborating with the United States Postal Service (USPS) to trace the lost tray and determine where the problem occurred.
As a precaution, the office has issued 100 replacement ballots to affected voters. They plan to manage any duplicate submissions by “spoiling” one ballot to ensure that only one vote counts per voter. While occasional ballot losses happen, Hondorp noted that losing an entire tray is unprecedented for their city.
This incident has raised concerns about the effectiveness of mail handling procedures at postal facilities, as highlighted in a USPS Office of Inspector General report earlier in the year, which indicated failures in following election mail protocols. Despite reaching out, The Federalist did not receive comments from the USPS before publication.
Grand Rapids, Michigan, has lost a tray of absentee ballots, City Clerk Joel Hondorp told The Federalist. The city is investigating but does not yet know where the ballots went.
“Voters were calling, saying, ‘Hey, we didn’t receive our ballots,’” Hondorp said. “There’s a tray of ballots that were set to be mailed out. Looks like it may have got to the post office, we’re trying to figure out where the disconnect is.”
A tray holds close to 300 ballots, according to Hondorp. His office is working with the United States Postal Service to investigate at what point the tray of ballots got lost.
“We do ballot tracking with our mail vendor, and so we can kind of verify where a tray gets scanned into the system,” Hondorp said. “We’re investigating right now.”
Hondorp said his office has sent 100 replacement ballots to voters who did not receive theirs. If anyone submits duplicate ballots, he said his office would “spoil” one of the ballots so only one vote counts per voter.
“If for some reason this tray shows up somewhere, and then they get another ballot in the mail, we know which ballot to count so they don’t return two,” Hondorp said. “If two ballots happen to come back to us, we know we only keep one of them.”
A few ballots sometimes get lost in the mail, Hondorp said, but typically the number is not this high. “It doesn’t seem to be a whole tray in the past. We might have some ones or twos,” he said.
If Grand Rapids voters should have received an absentee ballot but did not, Hondorp said they should contact his office. This is how Hondorp initially discovered the issue, which his staff traced to the northwest part of the city.
“Now we have to figure out what we’re going to do, what’s the next step for everybody else that may not be aware that they have a problem,” Hondorp said.
The USPS Office of Inspector General found in July that many facilities failed to follow correct election mail procedures, as The Federalist previously reported. The audit found that “without full compliance, implementation, and a clear understanding of the Election and Political Mail policies and procedures, there is a risk of improper handling, untimely processing, and late delivery of Election and Political Mail.”
The USPS announced a program to restructure mail delivery in 2021, and since then, areas with the new system have seen “some dramatic decreases in service.”
The Federalist reached out to the USPS but did not receive a comment in time for publication.
For more election news and updates, visit electionbriefing.com.
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