12/18/2025
Maine’s 2025 election is in the middle of an unprecedented crisis caused by the breach of the chain of custody for at least 250 absentee ballots. We don’t know how this happened, how many more ballots are in the wild, and who might have done this. The Secretary of State has refused to answer questions publicly and has issued no statements that might give the public confidence in the upcoming election. So how do we ensure that the Nov. 4 election is still executed with legitimacy? That all parties can have faith in and accept the results as just and true?
Shenna Bellows’ resignation would likely just put someone worse in the job. What’s really needed is an immediate federal investigation that moves into the Secretary of State’s office, seizes all of the physical evidence, and seizes all of Bellows’ servers and devices. Ditto for the contractors and vendors responsible for printing and shipping the absentee ballots and envelopes.
Until federal investigators can determine how 250 ballots got into an Amazon box — and guarantee that there are no more Bellows Ballots in the wind — then extreme measures are warranted: fill the ballot drop-boxes with cement or remove them, enact new authentication measures for all AB submissions, expedite active signature verification for all submitted ABs, and maintain photographic/video surveillance of AB submitters.
Without immediate answers from investigators not beholden to Shenna Bellows or the Mills Administration, i.e. DOJ, the integrity of the election cannot be guaranteed. Absent that, only extreme protections around absentee voting will ensure that the process is legitimate. Any officials who oppose these options will do so only for selfish political reasons.
