The city of Bangor warned residents on Tuesday warning of a person knocking on doors and offering to return absentee ballots.
In a post on the social media platform X, the city said “at least one individual” was involved in the activity, which has been reported to the Maine secretary of state to investigate.
“It is illegal and may result in ballots never being submitted/counted,” the city said.
Speaking on Tuesday evening, Bangor City Clerk Lisa Goodwin said the warning was based on one report from a resident, who described the unsolicited visit.
“Of course, the lady didn’t have a ballot,” Goodwin said. “But it’s alarming because we don’t want anyone to give a ballot to someone who shouldn’t have it.”
The City has been made aware of at least one individual knocking on doors offering to return absentee ballots for residents. This incident has been reported to the Secretary of State for them to investigate, as it is illegal and may result in ballots never being submitted/counted pic.twitter.com/dogGKEyyOo
— City of Bangor, Maine (@CityofBangorME) October 29, 2024
Emily Cook, a spokesperson for the secretary of state’s office, on Tuesday confirmed that the office is investigating the Bangor case, but said she is not aware of any other similar reports from other communities.
Cook advised voters to return their ballot to their municipality’s absentee ballot drop box or directly to their municipal clerk and use the online absentee ballot status tracker to ensure it arrives and is counted.
“If they’ve mailed or otherwise sent their ballot back and it isn’t showing up as received by their clerk by Election Day, they can vote a new ballot, and the other would be rejected if/when it arrives,” Cook said.
A spokesperson for the Bangor Police Department said the department is not investigating the incident.