宾夕法尼亚州“少量”废弃邮寄选票事件引发司法部的调查和引起注意总统的唐纳德·特朗普根据县经理的说法，这似乎是由于卢泽恩县选举局的一个临时承包商的行政错误造成的。
他还说，直到司法部本周早些时候公开披露这一信息，县官员才知道哪一名候选人被选中。
卢塞恩县经理C. David Pedri在周五发表的一份声明中说，一名被分配在选举局分拣邮件的临时独立承包商“错误地将UMOVA选票扔进了办公室垃圾中”，UMOVA选票是军方和海外选民选票的缩写。宾夕法尼亚州中区的美国检察官办公室周四表示，在选举大楼旁边的垃圾箱里发现了九张选票，其中七张投给了特朗普，另外两张重新密封在信封里。
声明称:“卢塞恩县选举工作人员不知道选票投给了谁，直到2020年9月24日美国司法部的新闻稿披露了这一情况。”。
佩德里说，这名临时雇员于9月14日开始在选举局工作，两天后，卢泽恩县选举主任谢尔比·瓦奇拉发现了这个错误。
“瓦琪拉立即开始了内部调查，并通知了她的直接上司。该临时独立承包商被解除服务，并被告知不要返回，”佩德里在声明中说。
内部调查后，Watchilla“联系了Luzerne县法律办公室，该办公室研究了此事，并建议需要向当局报告”，随后向地区检察官办公室提出了请求。
2020年9月25日星期五，亚特兰大，唐纳德·特朗普总统在竞选集会上讲话。
佩德里说，在独立承包商受雇的三天期间积累的“来自选举局的所有垃圾”都被放在垃圾箱里，由卢泽恩县的工作人员保管。
“联邦调查局、卢塞恩县地区检察官办公室、宾夕法尼亚州警方以及卢塞恩县工作人员搜查了整个建筑垃圾箱中的每一袋垃圾。所有关注的项目都被联邦调查局拘留，”他写道。
根据宾夕法尼亚州选举法，选票信封在拉票之前不能打开，各县有责任妥善储存和维护退回选票的安全。佩德里说，卢泽恩县“将试图联系相关选民，并处理他们的投票。”
该县与宾夕法尼亚州国务院一道，计划为所有工作人员提供额外培训，并在选举局安装了一个安全摄像头，以“积极监控并确保所有工作人员严格遵守适当的程序和协议。”
一名司法部官员星期五告诉美国广播公司新闻，司法部长威廉·巴尔在DOJ的调查星期四公开之前，亲自向特朗普通报了调查情况。总统接着说讨论事件在福克斯新闻电台的“布莱恩·基尔米德秀”上，他声称没有证据支持他关于欺骗性邮件投票的毫无根据的说法。
美国联邦调查局局长克里斯托弗·雷(Christopher Wray)周四在参议院听证会上讨论了欺诈性投票问题，他说:“从历史上看，我们还没有在重大选举中看到任何形式的协调一致的全国选民欺诈行为，无论是通过邮件还是其他方式。”
Temporary contractor threw Trump mail-in ballots in trash, Pennsylvania county officials say
An incident regarding "a small number" of discarded mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania -- which hassparkeda Department of Justice investigation anddrawn the attentionof PresidentDonald Trump-- appears to be rooted in an administrative error by a temporary contractor working at the Luzerne County Elections Bureau, according to the county manager.
He also said county officials did not know which candidate was selected on the ballots until the Justice Department publicly disclosed the information earlier this week.
Luzerne County Manager C. David Pedri said in a statement issued Friday that a temporary independent contractor who was assigned to sort mail at the elections bureau "incorrectly discarded into the office trash UMOVA ballots," which is an acronym for ballots from military and overseas voters. The U.S. Attorney's Office in the Middle District of Pennsylvania said on Thursday that nine ballots had been found in a dumpster next to the elections building with seven cast for Trump and the other two resealed inside their envelopes.
"Luzerne County Elections staff were unaware for whom the ballots were cast until the disclosure via Press Release of the United States Attorney on September 24, 2020," the statement reads.
The temporary employee began working at the elections bureau on Sept. 14, Pedri said, and the mistake was discovered by Luzerne County Elections Director Shelby Watchilla two days later.
"Ms. Watchilla immediately began an internal inquiry and informed her direct supervisor. The temporary independent contractor was removed from service and informed not to return," Pedri said in the statement.
Following the internal inquiry, Watchilla "contacted Luzerne County Office of Law who researched the matter and advised that this needed to be reported to the authorities," after which a request was made to the district attorney's office.
President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally, Friday, Sept. 25, 2020, in Atlanta.
Pedri said "all garbage from the Elections Bureau" that accumulated during the three-day period of the independent contractor's employment "was placed in a dumpster and secured by Luzerne County staff."
"Each bag of garbage from the entire building in the dumpster was searched by the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office, Pennsylvania State Police as well as Luzerne County staff. All items of concern were taken into custody by the Federal Bureau of Investigations," he wrote.
Ballot envelopes cannot be opened until the canvass is under way, and it is incumbent on counties to properly store and maintain the security of returned ballots, according to the Pennsylvania Election Code. Pedri said Luzerne County "will attempt to contact the voters involved and process their votes."
The county, along with the Pennsylvania Department of State, plans to provide extra training to all staff, and has installed a security camera in the elections bureau to "actively monitor and ensure that all staff are strictly adhering to proper procedures and protocols."
A Justice Department official told ABC News Friday that Attorney General William Barr personally briefed Trump about the DOJ's investigation prior to it being made public Thursday. The president went on todiscuss the incidenton Fox News Radio's "Brian Kilmeade Show," claiming without evidence it backed up his baseless claims on fraudulent mail-in voting.
FBI Director Christopher Wray discussed fraudulent voting during a Senate hearing Thursday, saying, "We have not seen, historically, any kind of coordinated national voter fraud effort in a major election, whether it's by mail or otherwise."
