In New Jersey, a courier threw out ballots: he faces 5 years in prison

He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of over $ 250. The details are shared by the publication The Hill.

On October 7, a New Jersey courier was arrested for allegedly throwing away letters, including 99 ballot papers, during the general election.

Nicholas Beauchene was charged with one count of delaying, concealing or detaining mail and one count of obstructing mail. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $ 250 fine for the delay, as well as up to six months in prison and a $ 6000 fine for obstructing.

The discarded ballots were addressed to residents of West Orange, New Jersey, Attorney Craig Carpentino said.

Approximately 1875 mailings were recovered from dumpsters in North Arlington and West Orange between October 2 and 5, according to filings with the US District Court for the District of New Jersey. And they were to be delivered to Orange and West Orange.

Prosecutors say Boshen was the only postal carrier tasked with delivering letters to these addresses. He is now due to appear in federal court in Newark.

In addition to ballots, prosecutors said 627 first-class mailings, 873 standard-class mailings, two registered letters and 276 campaign leaflets for candidates to the West Orange City Council and the Board of Education were seized.

The name of Boshen's lawyer was not listed in the court documents.

On the subject: In the presidential election, Americans choose not only the head of the country: who else

Mail voting is under scrutiny this year as more Americans are mailing their ballots for fear of contracting the coronavirus while voting at a polling station.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly stated that mail-order voting will lead to widespread voter fraud, despite the lack of evidence to support this claim.

The White House recently drew attention to several discarded ballots in Pennsylvania, but Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar said there was no "deliberate fraud".

In August, the Trump campaign sued New Jersey in an attempt to overturn an executive order from Governor Phil Murphy requiring every voter in the state to receive ballots by mail in addition to being allowed to vote in person.

Recall that at the end of July, US President Donald Trump offered to postpone the presidential election, scheduled for November 3, stating that the increase in mail-order voting due to the coronavirus pandemic will lead to fraud.

This is the first time Trump has publicly expressed the idea of ​​canceling the vote. The postponement of the election date is almost impossible, but a simple proposal for a postponement was unusual for a country where a peaceful transfer of power took place, including during the Civil War, during the Second World War and the Great Depression.