Ever made a joke about how voting for a certain person or party is like “throwing your vote away?”
Well in Klamath County, Oregon someone did just that, only this time, literally!
Voter turnout up in Klamath County https://t.co/yZtuoFfjLU via @HeraldandNews
— Herald and News (@HeraldandNews) May 17, 2016
Officials say that someone broke into a ballot box near a senior center and threw all of the mail-in ballots into a nearby dumpster. In Oregon, citizens voting in state and local elections vote by mail, with an option to drop ballots off at boxes located across the state so they don’t miss deadlines. Officials say that about 240 ballots were stolen, but after locating them in the dumpster they will all be counted.
Residents were voting on a measure to overturn the county’s ban on marijuana dispensaries and on a state senate seat. Oregon Secretary of State Molly Woon says stealing ballots is a felony and the state is taking the incident very seriously.
It appears this was an isolated incident, and all of the lost ballots were recovered successfully. If you live in Klamath county and are concerned about your ballot, you can contact the Klamath County Sheriff’s Department.
Maybe residents of that nearby senior center were just having a little fun. THUG LIFE!
I guess that’s a risk when you are a vote-by-mail state like Oregon is. Considering how popular the method is though, it doesn’t seem like it will change anytime soon. How easy is that, by the way? Makes voting so much easier for busy people and lazy people alike!
Rock on, Oregon.
Feature image via Getty/Craig Mitchelldyer
