{"id":2355461,"date":"2024-10-16T04:14:02","date_gmt":"2024-10-16T08:14:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/michigans-second-largest-city-lost-an-entire-tray-of-mail-ballots\/"},"modified":"2024-10-16T04:16:38","modified_gmt":"2024-10-16T08:16:38","slug":"michigans-second-largest-city-lost-an-entire-tray-of-mail-ballots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/michigans-second-largest-city-lost-an-entire-tray-of-mail-ballots\/","title":{"rendered":"Michigan&#8217;s Second-Largest City Lost An Entire Tray Of Mail Ballots"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmichigans-second-largest-city-lost-an-entire-tray-of-mail-ballots%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2355461&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>In Grand Rapids, Michigan, a significant issue has arisen concerning the loss of\u2063 a tray \u2063containing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/9-key-points-from-trump-campaign-press-conference-on-challenges-to-election-results\/\" title=\"9 Key Points from Trump Campaign Press Conference on Challenges to Election Results\">absentee ballots<\/a>. City Clerk Joel Hondorp reported to The Federalist that voters were\u2063 calling the office, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-health-nominee-mum-on-taxpayer-funded-abortion\/\" title=\"Biden Health Nominee Mum On Taxpayer Funded Abortion\">expressing concerns<\/a>\u2062 about not receiving their ballots. The missing tray, which potentially \u2064holds around 300\u2063 ballots, may have reached\u200d the post office, \u200bbut the exact whereabouts are still unknown. Hondorp mentioned that his office is collaborating with the United States Postal Service (USPS) to trace the\u2064 lost tray\u200c and \u200bdetermine where the problem occurred.<\/p>\n<p>As a precaution, the \u2064office has \u200cissued 100 replacement ballots to affected voters. They plan to manage any \u200bduplicate submissions by &#8220;spoiling&#8221; one ballot to ensure that \u200donly one vote counts per voter. While occasional ballot losses happen, Hondorp noted that losing an entire tray is unprecedented for their city.<\/p>\n<p>This incident has raised concerns about the effectiveness of mail handling procedures at postal facilities,\u2063 as highlighted in a USPS Office of\u200c Inspector General report earlier in the year, which indicated failures in following election mail protocols. Despite reaching out, The Federalist \u200bdid not receive comments from the USPS before publication.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Grdowntown.jpg\">GRGuy2011\/Wikimedia Commons<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Grdowntown.jpg\">Public Domain<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/10\/16\/michigans-second-largest-city-lost-an-entire-tray-of-mail-ballots-and-still-has-no-clue-where-they-went\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Michigan%E2%80%99s%20Second-Largest%20City%20Lost%20An%20Entire%20Tray%20Of%20Mail%20Ballots%20And%20Still%20Has%20No%20Clue%20Where%20They%20Went&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/10\/16\/michigans-second-largest-city-lost-an-entire-tray-of-mail-ballots-and-still-has-no-clue-where-they-went\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Michigan%E2%80%99s%20Second-Largest%20City%20Lost%20An%20Entire%20Tray%20Of%20Mail%20Ballots%20And%20Still%20Has%20No%20Clue%20Where%20They%20Went&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/10\/16\/michigans-second-largest-city-lost-an-entire-tray-of-mail-ballots-and-still-has-no-clue-where-they-went\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/10\/16\/michigans-second-largest-city-lost-an-entire-tray-of-mail-ballots-and-still-has-no-clue-where-they-went\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Michigan%E2%80%99s%20Second-Largest%20City%20Lost%20An%20Entire%20Tray%20Of%20Mail%20Ballots%20And%20Still%20Has%20No%20Clue%20Where%20They%20Went&amp;body=Grand%20Rapids%20lost%20a%20tray%20of%20absentee%20ballots%20and%20does%20not%20know%20where%20it%20went,%20City%20Clerk%20Joel%20Hondorp%20told%20The%20Federalist.%20%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/10\/16\/michigans-second-largest-city-lost-an-entire-tray-of-mail-ballots-and-still-has-no-clue-where-they-went\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>Grand Rapids, Michigan, has lost a tray of absentee ballots, City Clerk Joel Hondorp told The Federalist. The city is investigating but does not yet know where the ballots went.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Voters were calling, saying, &lsquo;Hey, we didn&rsquo;t receive our ballots,&rsquo;&rdquo; Hondorp said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a tray of ballots that were set to be mailed out. Looks like it may have got to the post office, we&rsquo;re trying to figure out where the disconnect is.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-00587a7509e41020b10e92f0339b0d91 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-00587a7509e41020b10e92f0339b0d91\"><\/div>\n<p>A tray holds close to 300 ballots, according to Hondorp. His office is working with the United States Postal Service to investigate at what point the tray of ballots got lost.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We do ballot tracking with our mail vendor, and so we can kind of verify where a tray gets scanned into the system,&rdquo; Hondorp said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re investigating right now.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Hondorp said his office has sent 100 replacement ballots to voters who did not receive theirs. If anyone submits duplicate ballots, he said his office would &ldquo;spoil&rdquo; one of the ballots so only one vote counts per voter.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;If for some reason this tray shows up somewhere, and then they get another ballot in the mail, we know which ballot to count so they don&rsquo;t return two,&rdquo; Hondorp said. &ldquo;If two ballots happen to come back to us, we know we only keep one of them.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-efc554145184ce5ce94ac6d521439b81 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-efc554145184ce5ce94ac6d521439b81\"><\/div>\n<p>A few ballots sometimes get lost in the mail, Hondorp said, but typically the number is not this high. &ldquo;It doesn&rsquo;t seem to be a whole tray in the past. We might have some ones or twos,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>If Grand Rapids voters should have received an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-nevada-a-corrupt-cash-for-votes-scheme-is-hiding-in-plain-sight\/\" title=\"In Nevada, A Corrupt Cash-For-Votes Scheme Is Hiding In Plain Sight\">absentee ballot<\/a> but did not, Hondorp said they should contact his office. This is how Hondorp initially discovered the issue, which his staff traced to the northwest part of the city.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Now we have to figure out what we&rsquo;re going to do, what&rsquo;s the next step for everybody else that may not be aware that they have a problem,&rdquo; Hondorp said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The USPS Office of Inspector General found in July that many facilities <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/08\/16\/majority-of-postal-facilities-audited-by-inspector-general-failed-to-follow-election-mail-procedures\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">failed<\/a> to follow correct election mail procedures, as The Federalist previously reported. The audit found that &ldquo;without full compliance, implementation, and a clear understanding of the Election and Political Mail policies and procedures, there is a risk of improper handling, untimely processing, and late delivery of Election and Political Mail.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1a81d52e3b0654fa6152044926cedcf7 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1a81d52e3b0654fa6152044926cedcf7\"><\/div>\n<p>The USPS announced a <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/07\/31\/how-new-postal-practices-could-threaten-the-integrity-of-americas-biggest-voting-precinct\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">program<\/a> to restructure mail delivery in 2021, and since then, areas with the new system have seen &ldquo;some dramatic decreases in service.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The Federalist reached out to the USPS but did not receive a comment in time for publication.<\/p>\n<p><em>For more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/voting-machines-in-pennsylvania-county-decertified-due-to-2020-election-audit-effort\/\" title=\"Voting Machines In Pennsylvania County Decertified Due To 2020 Election Audit Effort\">election news<\/a> and updates, visit&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/electionbriefing.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">electionbriefing.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-a31719cd75515c93bdefb42a44a070be fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-a31719cd75515c93bdefb42a44a070be\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Logan Washburn is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lawsuit-clark-county-keeps-commercial-addresses-on-voter-rolls\/\" title=\"Lawsuit: Clark County Keeps Commercial Addresses On Voter Rolls\">staff writer covering election integrity<\/a>. He graduated from Hillsdale College, served as Christopher Rufo&#8217;s editorial assistant, and has bylines in The Wall Street Journal, The Tennessean, and The Daily Caller. Logan is originally from Central Oregon but now lives in rural Michigan.<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Logan Washburn<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/logan-washburn\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/absentee-ballots\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">absentee ballots<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/election-security\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">election security<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/grand-rapids\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Grand Rapids<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/investigation\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Investigation<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/mail-in-voting\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">mail-in voting<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/michigan\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Michigan<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/united-states-postal-service\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">United States Postal Service<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/usps\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">USPS<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Grand Rapids, Michigan, has misplaced a tray of absentee ballots, according to City Clerk Joel Hondorp. The city is looking into the matter but hasn&#8217;t determined their location yet<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":507,"featured_media":2355462,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Grdowntown.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[32644,37707,4601,43100,41033],"class_list":["post-2355461","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-election-integrity","tag-mail-ballots","tag-michigan","tag-second-largest-city","tag-voter-access"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Grdowntown.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2355461","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/507"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2355461"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2355461\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2355462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2355461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2355461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2355461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}