MIAMI — The Miami-Dade state attorney has requested an audit of postal distribution centers after dozens of pieces of election mail reportedly were found sitting in a post office.
There were 48 pieces found in total, according to the Miami Herald, citing a statement by the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General. Forty-two were ballots that had not been delivered to voters and six were filled out.
Those completed ballots were delivered Friday night to the Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections office.
State Rep. Kionne McGhee, D-Cutler Bay, shared a video Friday morning on Twitter that purportedly showed ballots stacked on top of each other. WFOR-TV reports they were inside a room at the U.S. Postal Office at the Princeton Distribution Center in southwest Miami-Dade.
Following the delays, Miami-Dade State Attorney Kathy Rundle in a statement said, "I have requested that all postal distribution centers be audited & any and all ballots that may remain in these centers be immediately transported ..." to the elections office.
Miami-Dade Elections on Saturday said the six ballots found were delivered yesterday and are being processed. Another 24 ballots found at the post office will be delivered today, and the office will contact voters to help them.
Tuesday, Sept. 27, was the one-week recommended deadline for voters to mail back mail-in ballots given processing delays with the U.S. Postal Service.
A vote-by-mail ballot must be returned and received no later than 7 p.m. on Election Day in Florida for it to be counted. For voters who still have a mail-in ballot in hand, they can be placed in secure drop boxes at Supervisor of Elections offices and at early in-person voting sites.
Early in-person voting comes to an end in many places Saturday across Florida, with several Tampa Bay counties allowing early in-person voting through Sunday.
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