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Photos Show Scores of Uncounted Ballots in Opa-locka Mail Center
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Miami-Dade County announced today that it has finished counting votes for the 2018 election.
But photos obtained by New Times show scores of mail-in ballots sitting inside an Opa-locka mail distribution center — the same center that was evacuated last month after alleged mail bomber Cesar Sayoc's pipe bombs passed through the facility.
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Photos Show Scores of Uncounted Ballots in Opa-locka Mail Center
JERRY IANNELLI | NOVEMBER 9, 2018 | 6:44PM
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Miami-Dade County announced today that it has finished counting votes for the 2018 election.
But photos obtained by New Times show scores of mail-in ballots sitting inside an Opa-locka mail distribution center — the same center that was evacuated last month after alleged mail bomber Cesar Sayoc's pipe bombs passed through the facility.
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Several local activists demonstrated outside both the mail facility and at the Miami-Dade County Elections Department to try to bring attention to the ballots. Two sources who spoke with New Times allege hundreds of ballots might still be inside.
Suzy Trutie, a spokesperson for the Elections Department, told New Times her office was aware of the ballots but confirmed nothing else about them. She said that, per state law, any ballots not delivered to the Miami-Dade Elections Department by 7 p.m. on Election Day could not be counted toward the 2018 total.
"We do our best to educate voters that, if you’re voting vote-by-mail, then your ballot had to be at the Elections Department by Tuesday, November 6," she said. "Not everybody mailed back in time."
Asked whether the ballots had been sitting inside the Opa-lockacenter undelivered on Election Day — or when the place was evacuated — Trutie referred questions to the United States Postal Service. (After this story was initially published, Trutie added that the Elections Department ran daily post-office pick-ups this election season, and picked up ballots three different times on Election Day.)
Ty Russell, a reporter with CBS Miami, tweeted minutes ago that he'd spoken with USPS and that it was not aware of any ballots being mishandled.
After this story was initially published, the USPS confirmed to the Miami Herald that the agency is still investigating the way the ballots were handled. U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson's office also told the Herald that she spoke to the USPS and that the ballots had been postmarked after Election Day and were thus ineligible. State law does, however, provide a 10-day extension for overseas voters and members of the military.
But sources who spoke with New Times privately worried that ballots had potentially been sitting inside the mailroom for days or weeks before Election Day. Sources expressed frustration that more wasn't done to collect outstanding ballots before the 7 p.m. election deadline. One source who claimed to have reported the issues to the Elections Department said that the Opa-locka distribution center was understaffed and that there were not enough employees to handle the flood of ballots that had come in just before the election.
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