A video shows a Democratic operative allegedly attempting to remove a ballot drop box from a wall in the state of Montana.
A video shared on X, formerly Twitter, shows an individual approaching a ballot drop box in Glacier County, Montana. The individual can be seen placing both his hands on the drop box, stepping away for a few moments, and then placing his hands on the drop box for a second time.
According to Fox News, Crystal Cole, election administrator for Glacier County, shared concerns regarding the alleged ballot box “tampering” incident with the Montana secretary of state’s election unit on Sunday. Fox News reported that Cole told the secretary of state’s office that she reached out to the man seen in the video and that the Democratic Party operative said he had been sent to the ballot drop box “to see how secure the box was.”
Cole explained, “MT Dem Party did not notify the Elections office . . . they would be sending someone to the Ballot Box to check how secure it was, so on camera it looks like he was tamering [sic] with the box.”
Fox News reported that the individual in the video was later identified as Laszlo Gendler, a Democrat operative working for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. The outlet noted that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has been working to help Democrat Sen. Jon Tester win reelection in Montana.
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In a statement to Montana Talks, Richie Melby, the communications director for Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen, said, “The Glacier County election administrator contacted our office expressing serious concern over surveillance footage that appeared to show an individual ‘tampering’ with a ballot box.”
“The name of the suspect and details were turned over to Glacier County law enforcement,” Melby added. “Our Elections Director was pleased that the individual was not able to remove the ballot box from the wall, although the activity was obviously highly suspicious and concerning.”
David Bergstein, a Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesperson, told Fox News that poll observers are told “not to touch ballot boxes” and that “neither the ballot box nor ballots were affected” in the incident. While Bergstein said Gendler was “attempting to ensure a new ballot box was secured to the wall,” the spokesperson said his actions were not conducted in accordance with the political organization’s procedures. As a result, Bergstein said Gendler would “no longer be doing this work moving forward.”
