(ABC NEWS) An incident regarding “a small number” of discarded mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania — which has sparked a Department of Justice investigation and drawn the attention of President Donald Trump — appears to be rooted in an administrative error by a temporary contractor working at the Luzerne County Elections Bureau, according to the county manager.
He also said county officials did not know which candidate was selected on the ballots until the Justice Department publicly disclosed the information earlier this week.
Luzerne County Manager C. David Pedri said in a statement issued Friday that a temporary independent contractor who was assigned to sort mail at the elections bureau “incorrectly discarded into the office trash UMOVA ballots,” which is an acronym for ballots from military and overseas voters. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Middle District of Pennsylvania said on Thursday that nine ballots had been found in a dumpster next to the elections building with seven cast for Trump and the other two resealed inside their envelopes.
