Maine
State investigates a claim that bundles of ballots ended up in a resident’s Amazon order
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Authorities in Maine are investigating an allegation that dozens of unmarked ballots that were to be used in this November’s election arrived inside a woman’s Amazon order.
The town of Ellsworth reported to the state last week that it was missing a shipment of 250 absentee ballots, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said Monday. That happened the same day a woman in a town roughly 40 miles (65 kilometers) away reported finding bundles of ballots — 250 in all — wrapped in plastic inside the box that contained her delivery from Amazon.
The secretary of state’s law enforcement division is investigating the discovery with assistance from the FBI and state authorities, Bellows said during a news conference at the state Capitol. She declined to identify the person who reported the ballots inside the delivery box, except to confirm she lived in the town of Newburgh.
“I have full confidence that law enforcement will determine who is responsible, and any bad actor will be held accountable,” she said, suggesting there could be other examples.
“This year, it seems that there may have been attempts to interrupt the distribution of ballots and ballot materials,” Bellows said, declining to elaborate.
The investigation into the wayward ballots is taking place less than a month before the state’s Nov. 4 election and with absentee voting already underway. The ballot includes a Republican-backed initiative that would implement a photo ID requirement for voters, limit the use of drop boxes and make changes to the state’s absentee voting system.
It also comes as Bellows, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in 2026, is clashing with the U.S. Department of Justice over its requests in numerous states for detailed voter roll information. The department has sued several states that have refused to turn over the data, including Maine.
Bellows has been a target of Republican ire in Maine since she removed President Donald Trump from the state’s 2024 presidential primary ballot under the Constitution’s insurrection clause. Trump appeared on the ballot after the U.S. Supreme Court intervened.
The story of the misplaced ballots has spread widely on social media since a conservative website in the state first reported it last week and has reignited claims by conservatives that Maine’s elections need to be more secure. Some prominent Republicans have used it to promote the need for the election-related ballot initiative.
“What this means is that Mainers need to turn out in force, and every single person that supports voter ID and securing our elections needs to get out and vote between now and Nov. 4 to ensure that we secure our elections,” said Republican state Rep. Laurel Libby, a supporter of the voter ID initiative.
Maine’s top Republicans in the Democratic-majority Legislature sent a letter last week to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel requesting an investigation into the claims. The letter states that the person who received the package, whom it does not name, informed their town office about the discovery.
Officials with the Justice Department and town of Newburgh declined to comment. Amazon said the company is cooperating with Maine’s investigation.
“Based on our initial findings, it appears that this package was tampered with outside of our fulfillment and delivery network, and not by an Amazon employee or partner,” the company said in a statement to The Associated Press.
New York
Judge tosses summons for former ‘The Bear’ writer who was handcuffed in New York City train seating dispute
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City judge has dismissed a civil summons against Alex O’Keefe, a former writer for FX’s hit show “The Bear” who was removed from a commuter train in handcuffs last month following a seating dispute.
O’Keefe, who is Black, has accused transit officers of targeting him over his race after another passenger complained about how O’Keefe was sitting on a Metro-North train.
In a video filmed by O’Keefe that gained widespread attention online, the TV screenwriter can be heard asking officers: “You’re going to arrest the one Black dude on the train, because this white woman said she didn’t like the way I was sitting on the train?”
The train didn’t appear to be full in the video.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said police arrived after a conductor complained that O’Keefe had spread his legs across an adjacent seat on the train in violation of the rail line’s rules.
He refused officers’ directions to exit the train, the MTA said, and was placed in handcuffs, questioned on a platform and released with a summons for disorderly conduct.
That summons was dismissed Tuesday by an administrative judge, a common outcome for such alleged violations.
In a video filmed outside the courthouse, O’Keefe accused the MTA of trying and failing “to make an example of me”
“I was harassed and detained for sitting while Black,” O’Keefe added in a statement. “Even though this absurd case was dismissed today, I will continue to defend the civil rights of every New Yorker.”
A spokesperson for the transit authority did not respond to a request for comment on the dismissal.
MTA Chairman Janno Lieber previously described the altercation as a simple case of a passenger not following the agency’s rules.
“The police have to get involved because somebody won’t take his feet off the seat?” Lieber said, adding: “Just take your feet off the seat. It’s that simple. And respect other passengers. But we’ll take a look at the video and deal with all the dramas that seem to come out of these simple interactions these days.”
O’Keefe, 31, won a 2023 Writers Guild Award with other writers as “The Bear” was named best comedy series.
State investigates a claim that bundles of ballots ended up in a resident’s Amazon order
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Authorities in Maine are investigating an allegation that dozens of unmarked ballots that were to be used in this November’s election arrived inside a woman’s Amazon order.
The town of Ellsworth reported to the state last week that it was missing a shipment of 250 absentee ballots, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said Monday. That happened the same day a woman in a town roughly 40 miles (65 kilometers) away reported finding bundles of ballots — 250 in all — wrapped in plastic inside the box that contained her delivery from Amazon.
The secretary of state’s law enforcement division is investigating the discovery with assistance from the FBI and state authorities, Bellows said during a news conference at the state Capitol. She declined to identify the person who reported the ballots inside the delivery box, except to confirm she lived in the town of Newburgh.
“I have full confidence that law enforcement will determine who is responsible, and any bad actor will be held accountable,” she said, suggesting there could be other examples.
“This year, it seems that there may have been attempts to interrupt the distribution of ballots and ballot materials,” Bellows said, declining to elaborate.
The investigation into the wayward ballots is taking place less than a month before the state’s Nov. 4 election and with absentee voting already underway. The ballot includes a Republican-backed initiative that would implement a photo ID requirement for voters, limit the use of drop boxes and make changes to the state’s absentee voting system.
It also comes as Bellows, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in 2026, is clashing with the U.S. Department of Justice over its requests in numerous states for detailed voter roll information. The department has sued several states that have refused to turn over the data, including Maine.
Bellows has been a target of Republican ire in Maine since she removed President Donald Trump from the state’s 2024 presidential primary ballot under the Constitution’s insurrection clause. Trump appeared on the ballot after the U.S. Supreme Court intervened.
The story of the misplaced ballots has spread widely on social media since a conservative website in the state first reported it last week and has reignited claims by conservatives that Maine’s elections need to be more secure. Some prominent Republicans have used it to promote the need for the election-related ballot initiative.
“What this means is that Mainers need to turn out in force, and every single person that supports voter ID and securing our elections needs to get out and vote between now and Nov. 4 to ensure that we secure our elections,” said Republican state Rep. Laurel Libby, a supporter of the voter ID initiative.
Maine’s top Republicans in the Democratic-majority Legislature sent a letter last week to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel requesting an investigation into the claims. The letter states that the person who received the package, whom it does not name, informed their town office about the discovery.
Officials with the Justice Department and town of Newburgh declined to comment. Amazon said the company is cooperating with Maine’s investigation.
“Based on our initial findings, it appears that this package was tampered with outside of our fulfillment and delivery network, and not by an Amazon employee or partner,” the company said in a statement to The Associated Press.
New York
Judge tosses summons for former ‘The Bear’ writer who was handcuffed in New York City train seating dispute
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City judge has dismissed a civil summons against Alex O’Keefe, a former writer for FX’s hit show “The Bear” who was removed from a commuter train in handcuffs last month following a seating dispute.
O’Keefe, who is Black, has accused transit officers of targeting him over his race after another passenger complained about how O’Keefe was sitting on a Metro-North train.
In a video filmed by O’Keefe that gained widespread attention online, the TV screenwriter can be heard asking officers: “You’re going to arrest the one Black dude on the train, because this white woman said she didn’t like the way I was sitting on the train?”
The train didn’t appear to be full in the video.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said police arrived after a conductor complained that O’Keefe had spread his legs across an adjacent seat on the train in violation of the rail line’s rules.
He refused officers’ directions to exit the train, the MTA said, and was placed in handcuffs, questioned on a platform and released with a summons for disorderly conduct.
That summons was dismissed Tuesday by an administrative judge, a common outcome for such alleged violations.
In a video filmed outside the courthouse, O’Keefe accused the MTA of trying and failing “to make an example of me”
“I was harassed and detained for sitting while Black,” O’Keefe added in a statement. “Even though this absurd case was dismissed today, I will continue to defend the civil rights of every New Yorker.”
A spokesperson for the transit authority did not respond to a request for comment on the dismissal.
MTA Chairman Janno Lieber previously described the altercation as a simple case of a passenger not following the agency’s rules.
“The police have to get involved because somebody won’t take his feet off the seat?” Lieber said, adding: “Just take your feet off the seat. It’s that simple. And respect other passengers. But we’ll take a look at the video and deal with all the dramas that seem to come out of these simple interactions these days.”
O’Keefe, 31, won a 2023 Writers Guild Award with other writers as “The Bear” was named best comedy series.
