Stolen Early Mail-in Ballots Found in Glendale, Arizona

A canvasser processes mail-in ballots in a warehouse at the Anne Arundel County Board of Elections headquarters in Glen Burnie, Md., on Oct. 7, 2020. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Glendale, Arizona, Police Department officials said a farm worker found several stolen ballots on a road in late October.

According to a statement released by police officials on their Facebook page on Nov. 3, 18 early election mail-in ballots were found underneath some concrete and rocks at a farm near 99th Avenue and Glendale by a man named Brayan Ruiz.

The department said Ruiz did the right thing by letting officials know about the ballots and said they were returned to the intended recipients by a Glendale Police officer and two Attorney General Special agents.

According to a press statement, “investigators found the ballots were stolen from individual mailboxes in a neighborhood just south of 107th and Northern avenues (in between Vista Avenue and Kaler Drive). The envelopes were still sealed.”

“The motive for stealing the ballots is presently unknown,“ the department added. ”At this time, the investigation is still ongoing and no arrests have been made.”

Officials with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office say there may be other victims of stolen ballots. Arizona voters are encouraged to check the status of their mail-in ballots and to come forward if they have any information about the stolen ballots.

President Donald Trump has been critical of mass mail-in voting, saying it will result in widespread fraud. “This is going to be a fraud like you’ve never seen,” the president said during the first presidential debate against Democratic challenger Joe Biden.