A Florida postal worker was caught on video surveillance throwing away hundreds of election mailers and a mail-in ballot in a wooded area.
The incident came to light on Tuesday when Ottis Nicole McCoy Jr.'s delivery practices raised suspicions after he completed a route much sooner than expected, Florida Politics reported.
An employee who helped McCoy load the mail ahead of his route brought this to the attention of their employer at Cummings Contract Delivery Service Corp. This led to McCoy's boss checking his route via GPS and seeing that he had in fact not followed the course.
"McCoy may have disposed of U.S. Mail rather than deliver it to the proper addresses. P.K. saw that McCoy had a very large quantity of U.S. Mail to deliver on October 22, 2024. P.K. noted this because he assisted McCoy in loading the 2018 White Nissan NV200 Van in the morning when McCoy came to work. He later observed that McCoy had finished his route earlier than expected," court documents stated.
Following the discovery, surveillance footage of McCoy discarding the mail in a wooded area was turned over by a homeowner who caught the act on video.
McCoy is now facing federal charges for allegedly throwing away around 1,000 pieces of mail, including crucial election materials.
Glen Gilzean, the Orange County Elections Supervisor has informed the public that all impacted individuals will receive their mail-in ballots in time for the election.
"It is extremely concerning to see vote-by-mail ballots discarded on the ground. We are, however, grateful for the prompt action taken by the United States Postal Service and the leadership of United States Attorney Roger Handberg from the Middle District of Florida," Gilzean said. "We are fully committed to ensuring that every impacted Orange County voter receives their vote-by-mail ballot in time so that every voice can be heard in this historic election."
Originally published by Latin Times
