Rerun

coverage amplification

Election-season "ballots found in a ditch" stories

You're probably here because of the Oct 2026 rerun. This is the 11th time since 2016 this story has run. The previous rerun was Sep 2026.

About this story

From time to time during election season, reports of ballots or election mail found in a ditch, dumpster, storm drain or roadside spread quickly online and are offered as evidence of widespread fraud. When investigators followed up, they usually found something smaller or different. Examples include a temporary worker's mistake in Pennsylvania, no Wisconsin ballots in Wisconsin's "ditch mail," empty envelopes from past elections, and mail stolen or dumped by single postal carriers. Several of the most-shared versions were made up outright, including a 2016 hoax and a 2024 video that US agencies said Russian actors produced.

Sources: 1, 2

20162026

Rerun #11

Oct 2026 Pre-midterm "ballot dumping" reports

A driver found election mail scattered on Lake Wohlford Road in North San Diego County. The county Registrar of Voters said it was 12 unvoted mail ballot packets and 14 voter information pamphlets. Another person took the materials to a post office, and the Postal Service redelivered them. CIP says a video shared by several prominent X accounts claimed 27 "lost and stolen ballots" were found. Valley Center Republicans posted the video and alleged election fraud. Some X accounts used the incident to argue for Proposition 39 (voter ID). Election officials said there was no sign of voter fraud and no one tried to vote those ballots. They also said there was no sign the ballots went missing while in the registrar's custody. The case was referred to the Postal Service. CIP said the rumors "mislead by exaggerating the impact," because only 12 ballots were involved and they were redelivered.

  • 10news.com article
    Twelve unvoted, unfilled mail ballot packets being sent to voters and 14 voter information pamphlets were found on the side of a road
  • cip.uw.edu article
    These rumors mislead by exaggerating the impact of the dumped ballots.
  • 10news.com article
    Election officials say there are no indications of voter fraud and that no one attempted to cast a vote on behalf of the voters whose ballots were found.

Sources: 10news.com needs a second source · 10news.com needs a second source · cip.uw.edu needs a second source

Rerun #10

Sep 2026 Former postal worker indicted for allegedly dumping about 300 Utah primary ballots; DOJ official says "voting fraud is real"

Federal prosecutors charge that on June 3, 2026, a letter carrier threw mail, including about 300 primary ballots for Eagle Mountain voters, into a dumpster in a church parking lot. He was indicted on one mail-destruction count and pleaded not guilty on Sept. 22 (DOJ; CBS/AP; Salt Lake Tribune). At a news conference in Washington, Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter said the blocked federal mail-ballot rule would have prevented the alleged crime. He ended by saying "voting fraud is real" (Salt Lake Tribune). On the other side of the record: the defendant told investigators he had no political motive and acted out of "frustration" and "laziness," an explanation prosecutors "don't buy" (Salt Lake Tribune, Sept. 25). Court records cited by CBS/AP say he wanted to "lighten his workload." The Utah County clerk had told commissioners in July that he did not believe the missing ballots would have affected any race (Salt Lake Tribune). A week earlier, Utah legislative auditors reported they "did not observe significant fraud" in the state's elections (Salt Lake Tribune).

  • justice.gov statement
    Allegedly throwing away hundreds of ballots is a serious federal crime that undermines the integrity of our elections.
  • sltrib.com article
    So remember, folks, voting fraud is real
  • Fox News article
    Former USPS worker indicted after allegedly dumping 300-plus Utah mail-in ballots without delivering one

Sources: justice.gov needs a second source · sltrib.com needs a second source · cbsnews.com reliable · sltrib.com needs a second source

Rerun #9

Apr 2026 Box of ballots by a dumpster in Renton, Washington

On April 17, 2026, Washington State Republican Party Chair and state Rep. Jim Walsh posted a video about 380 ballots found next to a dumpster in Renton. In the video he said, "This is proof Washington state elections are not secure" (KIRO 7). KUOW reported that the ballots were not filled out and were never delivered to voters. They were addressed mostly to voters who use storefront mailboxes, such as Amazon or UPS parcel lockers, and came from elections between 2022 and 2025. King County Elections said its first review found the ballots appear to be outgoing ballots the voters never picked up from a private mailbox location. The county said the US Postal Inspection Service took custody on April 21 and is investigating with Renton police, and that it is coordinating with the FBI. King County Elections Director Julie Wise said "There was no opportunity for fraud here." A King County Elections spokesperson compared the episode to the reports of stolen mail and "ballots were found in a ditch" that the county hears in "almost every even-year election" (KUOW).

  • kuow.org article
    The 380 ballots, mostly from King County, were not filled out and were never delivered to voters.
  • cdn.kingcounty.gov statement
    Earlier today the United States Postal Inspection Service took custody of the ballots and is collaborating with the Renton Police Department on the investigation.
  • kiro7.com article
    This is proof Washington state elections are not secure.

Sources: kuow.org needs a second source · cdn.kingcounty.gov needs a second source · kiro7.com needs a second source

Rerun #8

Oct 2024 Fake video of Bucks County ballots being destroyed

On Oct 24–25, 2024, X posts shared a video and claimed it showed a Bucks County, Pennsylvania election worker destroying mail ballots marked for Trump. NPR reported the video got "hundreds of thousands of views" on X. On Oct 24 the county Board of Elections said the envelopes and materials were "clearly not authentic," and the DA's office concluded the video was "fabricated." On Oct 25, ODNI, the FBI and CISA said they assessed that "Russian actors manufactured and amplified" the video, and that "Local election officials have already debunked the video's content."

  • PolitiFact article
    Mail in ballots voting for Trump appear to be destroyed by this election registrar employee in Bucks County, Pennsylvania a major battleground State.
  • buckscounty.gov statement
    The envelope and materials depicted in this video are clearly not authentic materials belonging to or distributed by the Bucks County Board of Elections.
  • nbcphiladelphia.com article
    Russian actors manufactured and amplified a recent video that falsely depicted an individual ripping up ballots in Pennsylvania

Sources: tpr.org needs a second source · nbcphiladelphia.com needs a second source · PolitiFact reliable · buckscounty.gov needs a second source

Rerun #7

Nov 2022 Midterm "ballots in the trash" and the Santa Cruz Mountains ravine

On Nov. 10, 2022, a post spread on Instagram claiming that garbage collectors from L.A. County to "Chavez County," New Mexico, had found "thousands of midterm ballots in trash." PolitiFact traced the claim to the satirical Twitter account @SpeculationNews. It found that the two photos came from news stories in 2020 and 2021 about earlier incidents: a 2020 New Jersey case in which a postal worker dumped mail, and mail found in a Wisconsin ditch in September 2020. Separately, completed Santa Clara County ballots were found mixed with other mail in a ravine near Highway 17. The registrar said they "appear" to have gone missing while in USPS possession, and postal inspectors joined the investigation. According to PolitiFact, citing the registrar's Nov. 16 release, 36 ballots were recovered and 31 were counted. PolitiFact found "no known evidence" linking the case to Democrats trying to steal the election.

  • PolitiFact article
    ELECTION22: From L.A. County California to Chavez County New Mexico, garbage collectors report finding thousands of midterm ballots in trash at hundreds of locations
  • nbcbayarea.com article
    The county noted that it doesn't know yet exactly how many ballots are impacted, but the initial estimate is one to two dozen ballots.
  • PolitiFact article
    A recent Instagram post shared an authentic clip of the coverage, but wrongly claimed that it illustrates “how the left cheats to win.”
  • youtube.com video

Sources: PolitiFact reliable · PolitiFact reliable · nbcbayarea.com needs a second source · ktvu.com needs a second source

Rerun #6

Mar 2021 "Shredded ballots" in a Maricopa County dumpster

On March 6, 2021, Gateway Pundit published photos of a man in a dumpster and of shredded paper behind the Maricopa County elections facility. The article said "Someone ordered the ballots be shredded," days before the state Senate's audit of the 2020 vote. PolitiFact said the article was "widely shared on Facebook." The county elections department and Recorder Stephen Richer, a Republican, said all 2.1 million voted November ballots were still sealed in a vault under camera surveillance. They said none had been shredded, and that the office shreds other paperwork, including ballots from voters who had died. PolitiFact rated the claim False, and AP called it false as well.

  • thegatewaypundit.com article
    Someone ordered the ballots be shredded.
  • facebook.com social post
    Ballots shredded and in dumpsters behind the Maricopa County Ballot tabulation center.

Sources: PolitiFact reliable · berkshireeagle.com needs a second source · abc15.com needs a second source · azmirror.com needs a second source

Rerun #5

Nov 2020 Dumpster rumors after Election Day (Georgia, Arizona)

On the night of Nov. 5, 2020, papers found in a dumpster behind the Spalding County, Georgia elections office led to a Facebook post calling it an "active crime scene" where Trump ballots had been found. Sheriff Darrell Dix said investigators bagged everything in the dumpster. He said a Georgia Secretary of State investigator then went through it and found no ballots, only opened, empty mail-ballot envelopes. He added that all ballots had been taken out and counted before the envelopes were thrown away. On Nov. 6, a separate Facebook post claimed an Arizona trooper had found 50,000 Trump ballots in a dumpster. A spokesperson for the Arizona Department of Public Safety told PolitiFact that troopers had found no such ballots.

  • PolitiFact article
    Active crime scene in Spalding County, Georgia where ballots for President Donald Trump were discovered in a dumpster.
  • PolitiFact article
    Arizona trooper found 50,000 ballots in dumpster all for President Trump!!
  • wsbtv.com article
    What was found were empty envelopes that were used to mail ballots to the election's office.

Sources: wsbtv.com needs a second source · PolitiFact reliable · PolitiFact reliable · ABC News reliable

Rerun #4

Oct 2020 A New Jersey mail carrier is charged with dumping mail, including 99 ballots, and the case is then used as evidence of a "rigged" election

The Justice Department said about 1,875 pieces of mail were found in dumpsters in North Arlington and West Orange on Oct. 2 and Oct. 5, 2020. That included 99 general-election ballots for West Orange residents. The mail was "placed back into the mail stream for delivery." Nicholas Beauchene was the only carrier assigned to those addresses on the dates in question. The Independent reported that President Trump tweeted "Rigged!" on Monday, Oct. 12, with a picture of the recovered mail. It also reported that prosecutors said they did not believe the dumping was politically motivated. On May 27, 2021, Beauchene pleaded guilty to one count of desertion of mail, which carries a maximum of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine. He admitted to dumping mail from his own routes on Sept. 28, Oct. 1 and Oct. 2, 2020.

  • justice.gov statement
    was arrested today for discarding mail, including 99 general election ballots
  • Yahoo News article
    "Rigged!" the president tweeted on Monday morning with a picture of the recovered mail.
  • youtube.com video
    a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier from Hudson County, New Jersey, was arrested for discarding mail, including 99 general election ballots.

Sources: justice.gov needs a second source · justice.gov needs a second source · The Hill reliable · newjerseyglobe.com needs a second source

Rerun #3

Sep 2020 – Oct 2020 Discarded military ballots in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, and the first presidential debate

On Sept. 24, 2020, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania said nine discarded military ballots had been recovered in Luzerne County. Its first statement said all nine were cast for Trump. That statement was deleted and replaced with one saying seven were for Trump and two were unknown. White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany and Trump campaign aide Matt Wolking cited the first statement, with Wolking calling it proof "Democrats are trying to steal the election." At the Sept. 29 debate, Trump pointed to ballots "in a wastepaper basket" and "in creeks" as evidence of fraud. CNN said the Pennsylvania incident "is not evidence of cheating," and PolitiFact called it "a new employee's mistake rather than fraud." On Jan. 15, 2021, federal prosecutors closed the case without charges, citing "insufficient evidence to prove criminal intent" by a former temporary employee.

  • justice.gov statement
    Of the nine ballots that were discarded and then recovered, 7 were cast for presidential candidate Donald Trump.
  • Yahoo News article
    Nine military mail-in ballots — ALL cast for President @realDonaldTrump — were found discarded in Pennsylvania! DOJ confirms.
  • PolitiFact article
    They found them in creeks. They found some, just happened to have the name Trump just the other day in a wastepaper basket.

Sources: Yahoo News reliable · CNN reliable · PolitiFact reliable · justice.gov needs a second source

Rerun #2

Sep 2020 – Oct 2020 Mail in a ditch in Greenville, Wisconsin, and dumpster photos in Sonoma County, California

On Sept. 21, 2020, Outagamie County deputies found three trays of mail on the side of Highway 96 and in a ditch in Greenville, Wisconsin. The sheriff's office said the mail included "several" absentee ballots but gave no number. According to EIP's analysis, Gateway Pundit framed the incident as evidence that Democrats were "stealing the 2020 election." EIP says that framing spread mostly through right-wing and pro-Trump accounts, and White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany cited the incident on Sept. 24. On Oct. 1, Wisconsin Elections Commission administrator Meagan Wolfe said "no Wisconsin ballots were part of what was found." Sheriff's office photos released in February 2021 showed at least one ballot from Ramsey County, Minnesota. In the same week, posts claimed that "1,000+ mail-in-ballots" had been found in a Sonoma County dumpster. Sonoma County said the photos showed empty envelopes from the November 2018 election, "disposed of as allowed by law."

  • x.com social post
    In fact, in the last 24 hours, police in Greenville, Wisconsin, found mail in a ditch, and it included absentee ballots.
  • web.archive.org social post
    1,000+ mail-in-ballots found in a dumpster in California.
  • ABC News article
    They are being dumped in rivers. This is a horrible thing for our country.

Sources: eipartnership.net needs a second source · ABC News reliable · fox11online.com needs a second source · factcheck.org reliable

Rerun #1

Sep 2016 – Oct 2016 The made-up "Ohio warehouse" Clinton ballots story

On Sept. 30, 2016, ChristianTimesNewspaper.com said a Columbus-area electrical worker had found sealed ballot boxes holding "tens of thousands" of pre-marked Clinton ballots in an Ohio warehouse. It said the Clinton campaign planned to slip them in with real ballots on Election Day. Snopes found the photo was a 2015 picture from Birmingham, England, flipped and altered. Ohio's Republican Secretary of State, Jon Husted, called the story "a complete hoax and fabrication." The New York Times later reported that the story was shared with 6 million people, according to the tracking tool CrowdTangle. In January 2017 the Times reported that a recent college graduate, Cameron Harris, had made it up.

  • christiantimesnewspaper.com article
    Clinton campaign's likely goal was to slip the fake ballot boxes in with the real ballot boxes when they went to official election judges on November 8th.
  • boston25news.com article
    That is a completely 100 percent fabricated story. The photo they used to try to sell their story was from an election that occurred in Europe.
  • Snopes article
    this picture was actually taken in 2015 in Birmingham, England, and simply captures a man unloading a truck of ballot boxes at a polling station.

Sources: Snopes reliable · boston25news.com needs a second source · PolitiFact reliable · adn.com needs a second source