A U.S. mail truck believed to be carrying 43 absentee ballots was destroyed after it caught on fire. During a press conference, the Secretary of State’s office said election officials have spoken to the election directors in the area about a solution. Officials said they are “working with USPS to see if they have images of what might have been on that truck.”
FOX NEWS: Georgia mail truck potentially carrying absentee ballots destroyed by fire
Elizabeth Pritchett; October 26, 2022
A U.S. mail truck possibly carrying absentee ballots in Georgia was completely destroyed after it caught fire on Monday.
The Baker County Sheriff’s Office shared pictures on Facebook of the Jeep engulfed in flames in a rural area near Pretoria/Tarva Road, approximately ten miles southwest of Albany.
The sheriff’s office said the delivery driver was not injured, but the car is a total loss along with all the mail inside of it.
Deputies said the Newton Post Office has a list of packages and mail that was being delivered on the route. Those missing a delivery can contact the post office for more information.
During a press conference on Tuesday, the Secretary of State’s Office addressed the fire and said election officials have already spoken with the election’s director in that area, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.
“There are 43 outstanding ballots in the county. We’re working with USPS to see if they have images of what might have been on that truck, to reissue them,” Interim Deputy Secretary of State Gabriel Sterling said. “Worst comes to worst, we’ll reissue the 43 ballots, or the county will reissue the 43 ballots, and first across the line for those voters will be the ballots that are accepted.”
Sterling added that this is one example of many things state election officials might deal with during an election cycle.
According to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s Twitter account, more than a million votes had been cast in the state’s midterm election as of Tuesday evening.
Fox 5 also reported 100,000 absentee ballots were received on Tuesday alone and another 124,000 Georgia residents voted in person during the early voting period.
Baker County is located in southwest Georgia and is about 150 miles south of Atlanta.