EDINA, Minn. — With the election only a few weeks away, ballot security is top of mind for officials. An alert photographer shared an image of a lapse in security in a metro suburb on Friday, leading to swift action from Hennepin County.
In a post to social media, the City of Edina shared an image of a silver van with an open trunk hatch and boxes of ballots stacked inside.
Hennepin County issued a statement following the incident, acknowledging the lapse in protocol and calling it "unacceptable." The county said the driver was terminated.
"Election security is of utmost importance, and leaving ballots unattended is simply unacceptable," Hennepin County Auditor Daniel Rogan said in a statement. "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."
County officials said all expected ballots have been accounted for and found no evidence of tampering. Part of the routine ballot integrity process occurring with every ballot transfer includes comparing ballots received with the Statewide Voter Registration System for absentee ballots accepted by cities. Officials said the comparison on these ballots was 100%.
County staff inspected individually sealed ballots and determined they were still in sealed condition. This inspection is also part of the routine election integrity process, officials said.
Officials did not know on Sunday morning if the courier's other deliveries were affected.
To track the status of your absentee ballot online, visit mnvotes.gov.