500 blank ballots found near Renton dumpster spark federal investigation, fraud denial
A box of about 500 ballots that Washington GOP Chair Jim Walsh claims were turned over after being found behind a Renton strip mall. Election officials said an investigation is underway. (KOMO)
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RENTON, Wash. — Federal authorities have taken custody of a batch of election mail found near a Renton dumpster as officials investigate how what are alleged to be hundreds of ballots from past elections were left unclaimed.
The discovery surfaced last week after Washington State Republican Party Chairman and state Rep. Jim Walsh posted a video on social media showing a box of outbound, unvoted ballots he said had been found near a strip mall dumpster.
RELATED | Fraud concerns as 500 blank ballots from recent elections found near Renton dumpster
Walsh said a man from Renton found a box of roughly 500 ballots spanning multiple election cycles - many from 2022 through 2025 - behind the strip mall in February.
Walsh first posted a video regarding the ballots on April 16
King County Elections said it is now working with local and federal partners, including the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Renton Police Department, and the FBI, because the mail includes federal and out-of-state election materials.
Initial findings indicate the ballots were sent to voters but never retrieved.
“Upon initial review, the ballots appear to all be outgoing ballots that were not picked up by the voter after being delivered to a private mailbox location,” the agency said.
Walsh, who said he received the ballots from the person who found them, raised concerns about potential weaknesses in Washington’s vote-by-mail system, calling the situation a “broken chain of custody” and an “invitation to fraud,” though he stopped short of alleging wrongdoing.
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RENTON, Wash. — Federal authorities have taken custody of a batch of election mail found near a Renton dumpster as officials investigate how what are alleged to be hundreds of ballots from past elections were left unclaimed.
The discovery surfaced last week after Washington State Republican Party Chairman and state Rep. Jim Walsh posted a video on social media showing a box of outbound, unvoted ballots he said had been found near a strip mall dumpster.
RELATED | Fraud concerns as 500 blank ballots from recent elections found near Renton dumpster
Walsh said a man from Renton found a box of roughly 500 ballots spanning multiple election cycles - many from 2022 through 2025 - behind the strip mall in February.
Walsh first posted a video regarding the ballots on April 16
King County Elections said it is now working with local and federal partners, including the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Renton Police Department, and the FBI, because the mail includes federal and out-of-state election materials.
Initial findings indicate the ballots were sent to voters but never retrieved.
“Upon initial review, the ballots appear to all be outgoing ballots that were not picked up by the voter after being delivered to a private mailbox location,” the agency said.
Walsh, who said he received the ballots from the person who found them, raised concerns about potential weaknesses in Washington’s vote-by-mail system, calling the situation a “broken chain of custody” and an “invitation to fraud,” though he stopped short of alleging wrongdoing.
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