'Unknown number' of mail-in ballots reportedly missing in Pennsylvania

The Butler County Bureau of Elections says that an unknown number of mail-in ballots have gone missing.

The news comes as multiple voters in the county have reported that their ballots never arrived in the mail. According to the local elections bureau, these ballots likely were lost by the US Postal Service CBS2 reports.

“At first we thought that maybe it just was a delay in the postal system,” according to the Butler County commissioners chair Leslie Osche. “And that could still be the case. But nonetheless, when we realized that, we changed our strategy and now have begun to tell folks that if they haven’t received a ballot, they still have multiple options.”

The loss of the ballots once again raise concerns over vote fraud, which the Republicans have repeatedly warned would become rampant with this year's massive expansion in mail-in voting. Such concerns are particularly critical in Pennsylvania, the second largest of the swing states which then-candidate Donald Trump carried in 2016 by a margin of 0.72%.

The US Postal Service also commented on the matter in a statement. “Regarding mail sorting and delivery in Butler County, the Postal Service is unaware of any significant delays or issues and is in regular contact with the Board of Election as we work to locate and deliver ballots as they are presented to us,” they claimed.

The Butler County Bureau of Elections meanwhile is asking those who have not received their mail-in ballots to go to the Bureau of Elections or to simply fill out a provisional ballot at the polls on election day. Federal postal investigators are now looking into the matter.