Dozens of Ballots Found in Out of Service Seattle Mailbox

A combination of errors and incidents created a situation where a sizeable number of election ballots were found in a Seattle mailbox that was out of service.

The box had not been checked since October 14th.

  MyNorthwest.com and KIRO radio reported Wednesday that 85 ballots were found in a mailbox that was taken out of service due to a broken lock.

The box is located at East John Court and 15th Ave. East, near the Capitol Hill area, and was taken offline several weeks ago.  Seattle USPS officials say the ballots were delivered to the King County Elections Center, and will be counted as part of this recent election.

USPS officials say signage was placed on the box indicating it was out of service, but someone removed the warnings, and people unknowingly continued to use it.  There were many other letters and items in the box.

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According to KIRO, several citizens in the neighborhood believe  USPS should have also put up a sign along with the out-of-service warning indicating other nearby locations where mail and ballots could be dropped.

KIRO says officials don't yet know if these 85 ballots will affect the outcome of any races these people voted for.