300 absentee ballots from the 2020 election discovered in Michigan storage unit.

Around 300 absentee ballots from the 2020 election were discovered in a Michigan storage shed, per a local news report.

The ballots were found in a storage unit in Genesee County, a Michigan county that includes the town of Flint and Thetford Township. The discovery was made by Thetford Township Supervisor Rachel Stanke, who shared the details with The Epoch Times.

Stanke became aware of the possible existence of the ballots in 2021 and immediately contacted the Michigan attorney general and secretary of state.

The discovery was made by an employee at the township clerk’s office while cleaning out a storage unit in November 2021. The employee reported the finding to the clerk, but it was unclear if any action was taken. Seeking further investigation, the employee approached Stanke for assistance.

Stanke reached out to Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and was directed to Jonathan Brater, the director of elections in the state. During a phone call, Brater informed Stanke that Thetford Township was one of the audited locations and that the election appeared to be in order, despite the discovery of the ballots. This response left Stanke feeling frustrated.

Months later, Stanke followed up with the employee who found the ballots. Although Brater had assured her that there were no issues, Stanke offered to file a report with the Michigan State Police if the employee was willing to testify. The employee agreed.

Later on, while cleaning out the storage unit, the former deputy clerk of the township stumbled upon the box containing the missing ballots. Stanke had a hunch that these documents were the ones they were looking for and promptly contacted the Michigan State Police.

A state trooper visited Stanke’s house and took an updated report. The trooper then spoke with the former employee and the deputy clerk, leading to the recovery of the documents from the storage unit.

“He pulled out this box of documents that happened to be the 289 ballots,” Stanke revealed.

The ballots were subsequently sent to the Michigan secretary of state’s office for an audit. However, Stanke only learned about the findings through a Freedom of Information Act request.

Concerns

The discovered ballots were found to be unfilled. Nevertheless, Stanke’s investigation raised potential concerns.

Stanke explained the absentee voting process in Michigan: “To be an absentee voter, you need to complete an application and submit it to the clerk’s office. The clerk then sends you a ballot by mail so you can vote from home. So these people…