U.S. Postal Service investigators are in possession of video evidence showing an employee tossing at least 300 mailers in support of a New Jersey Republican congressman into a dumpster.
The egregious election interference was first reported by the New Jersey Globe after employees at a local security company observed a female postal worker approaching a parking lot dumpster and tossing in hundreds of ballots, actions which were caught on video. The mailers, sent by an independent committee, were promoting Congressman Tom Kean (R-NJ) who is in a tight reelection campaign against Democratic challenger Sue Altman. They were intended for voters in the western parts of Morris County, an area rich with Republican voters.
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On Monday, USPS spokesperson Xavier Hernandez confirmed that the agency is “aware of the allegation of mishandled political mail,” adding, “we have referred this incident to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General and have nothing further to offer.” Hours later, the Globe’s editor David Wildstein wrote on X that the postal worker “has been removed from her job as a postal worker in Succasunna, NJ,” the New York Post reported.
A U.S. Postal Service official has confirmed that the woman under investigation for discarding Tom Kean’s campaign mailers into a Pennsylvania dumpster has been removed from her job as a postal worker in Succasunna, NJ. https://t.co/Egp2w5ibfm
— David Wildstein (@wildstein) November 4, 2024
The Globe spoke with members of the security company who confirmed the incident. “We saw her dump it,” one guard said, explaining that the company turned over a video recording to Postal Service investigators. In a video posted on YouTube, another detailed how the footage allowed investigators to find the postal worker responsible. “We have a license plate,” another explained. “She has a Pennsylvania plate, but it looks like the mail’s from Jersey.”
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In a statement, Rep. Kean said he was disturbed by the allegations. “I believe in the security of our elections and voting by mail, but this incident is deeply troubling. I hope the USPS acts swiftly to resolve whatever crimes have been committed, and I urge them to be open and transparent about the specifics of this incident,” Kean told the Globe. “Protecting the integrity of our democracy is imperative.”
This isn’t the first time that New Jersey postal workers have been implicated in election interference. In 2020, Nicholas Beuchene pleaded guilty to disposing of roughly 200 vote-by-mail ballots.
The incident threatens to imperil the chances of Kean, a vulnerable blue-state Republican key to helping the party control the House in 2025. The Globe previously reported that New Jersey Republicans have eagerly embraced early voting, including in Kean’s district. As of last week, voter turnout had surpassed 15% statewide. Well over one million voters had cast their ballots, numbers which are good news for Kean. The 7th congressional district, which encompasses the suburbs west of Newark, saw Republicans outpace Democrats in early voting by 7,385 votes, 46%-30%.
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