'Highly suspicious' ballot box video sparks concerns in Montana
by JACKSON WALKER | The National News DeskWed, October 23rd 2024 at 3:46 PM
HELENA, Mont. (TNND) — The office of Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen sounded the alarm Wednesday over surveillance video showing an individual allegedly tampering with a ballot box in the state, telling The National News Desk the scene appears “highly suspicious and concerning.”
The video, which began circulating on social media Wednesday, shows an individual apparently trying to loosen a ballot box from a post. Glacier County Election Administrator Crystal Cole reported the video to Jacobsen's office and claimed it depicted potential tampering.
In an email to Jacobsen, Cole identified the individual in the video as “Laslo with the MT Dem Party." That individual allegedly told Cole "'they' sent him to the location to see how secure the box was."
In a statement to TNND, a spokesperson for Secretary of State Christi Jackson said the video sparked concerns in her office.
“The Glacier County election administrator contacted our office expressing serious concern that someone was trying to ‘tamper’ with a ballot box,” the spokesperson wrote. “The EA noted that the incident was caught on surveillance video, and the suspect and details were turned over to Glacier County law enforcement.”
“Our elections director was pleased that the individual was not able to remove the ballot box from the wall, although, as the election administrator signified in her email, the activity was certainly highly suspicious and concerning,” the spokesperson added.
Montana U.S. Senate candidate Tim Sheehy accused his incumbent opponent, Sen. John Tester, D-Mont., of coordinating the tampering alongside Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
“Why is @JonTester’s Boss Chuck Schumer sending his staff from DC to mess with ballot boxes here in Montana???” Sheehy asked on social media. “If we’re going to save our country, we must VOTE TO DEFEAT RADICAL DEMOCRATS TWO-FACED TESTER, CROOKED CHUCK AND CRAZY KAMALA BY HUGE MARGINS!!”
Echoing that sentiment were Senate Republicans via their X account, which asked “is Jon Tester trying to steal the election in Montana?”
Montana Democrats did not respond to a request for comment from TNND Wednesday.
https://nbcmontana.com/news/local/suspicious-ballot-box-tampering-attempt-sparks-concerns-in-montana-glacier-county-republicans-democrats-christi-jacobsen-gop-tester-sheehey-election-security-ballots