MIAMI – A Miami-Dade elections worker was fired after a sealed bin and a sealed bag of ballots fell from their truck and were found on the side of the road in Cutler Bay.
The incident occurred near SW 211th Street and the Turnpike Extension, and the ballots had already been scanned and tabulated at an early voting site.
The Miami-Dade Elections Department attributed the incident to human error, explaining that the worker forgot to lock the back of the truck, resulting in the sealed containers falling out.
A passerby spotted the bin and bag, then brought them to a local police station. According to Deputy Supervisor of Elections Roberto A. RodrÃguez, all seals were intact, and the ballots were verified as untampered.
While the ballots had already been counted, some voters expressed concern over the mishap. Orlando Puche, who learned about the situation 24 hours later, said, “I feel frustrated, I feel betrayed.”