Politics
King County replaces 92 ballots recovered from Golden Gardens dumpster
Two bins of mail containing 92 undelivered ballots were found at Seattle’s Golden Gardens Park. King County Elections says affected voters have received replacement ballots and the U.S. Postal Service is investigating.
Two bins of mail containing 92 undelivered ballots were found in a dumpster at Seattle’s Golden Gardens Park, King County Elections said Oct. 23, 2026. The ballots had not been used in the 2026 general election, the county said.
All voters affected by the discovery have been sent replacement ballots, according to Kendall Hodson, the elections office’s chief of staff. The county reported the incident to the U.S. Postal Service for investigation.
Hodson said the office hears about a handful of cases each election in which ballots are discarded after mail theft. Ballots are not usually the target, she said, noting that the recovered ballots had been thrown away.
King County Elections checks voter signatures to confirm ballots come from registered voters. Hodson said a ballot submitted by someone other than the intended voter would be rejected during that process.
Voters who have not received a ballot can call King County Elections at 206-296-8683 or request a replacement through the county’s website. Anyone who finds discarded ballots is asked to photograph each envelope and email the images, along with the location where they were found, to elections@kingcounty.gov.