A Hillsdale College vice president found an absentee ballot in his Michigan mailbox. But it came from Washington, D.C. — and was addressed to someone who likely never lived there.

“We have no reason to believe anyone with that name ever lived at this location,” said Robert Norton, Hillsdale’s vice president and legal counsel, to The Federalist.

Norton found the absentee ballot in the mailbox of his home in rural Jonesville, Mich. It came from the District of Columbia Board of Elections, and was addressed to a woman Norton says never lived there. The mailer, obtained by The Federalist, contained a blank ballot, instructions, a secrecy sleeve, and a pre-paid return envelope. 

Norton said he has never been a D.C. resident. He has lived at his house for years, and the previous resident owned the house for decades. 

“There’s no possible, ‘Oops, I lived there for a while and sold the house,’” Norton said. 

While Norton said he has “no idea” why the board of elections would send him a mail-in ballot addressed to someone else, he suggested it could be an error in a voting database.

“But that is not nothing,” Norton said. “Obviously one got away, and many others can get away.”

Norton also suggested the mailer could have been political bait. Left-wing media and officials have targeted Norton for advising those with integrity concerns after the 2020 election.

“Did somebody with access to it send me a ballot, seeing if I would take the bait and I would send it in?” Norton asked. “That’s a very unusual address to just accidentally have something go to.”

The Federalist reached out to the D.C. Board of Elections, but a spokeswoman did not respond with comment in time for publication. The Federalist also attempted to call the voter to whom the ballot was addressed, but had no success. Several phone numbers listed online for the individual were disconnected.

The D.C. Board of Elections mailed ballots to all district residents in 2020, and the district made automatic mail-in voting permanent in 2023. According to the board’s website, it automatically mails ballots to “all active registered voters,” but those away from the district can request a ballot. 

The board is a member of the Electronic Registration Information Center, a national database that supposedly cleans dead and duplicate voters from the rolls. ERIC was founded by David Becker, director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, which funneled millions in “Zuckbucks” from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to election officials in 2020. ERIC shares its data with CEIR for voter solicitations.

The Public Interest Legal Foundation sued the D.C. Board of Elections in 2021 for withholding voter roll maintenance documents regarding ERIC and “potentially deceased registrants.” In February, a judge ordered the board to disclose the documents.

The Government Accountability Institute released a report Oct. 16, naming mail-in ballots among the top threats to America’s electoral process. It called mail-in voting a “risk,” and recommended eliminating the method in favor of in-person voting on election day.

“Ballots can be lost in the mail or manipulated, and a secure chain of custody is impossible to guarantee,” the report reads. “…These are very difficult to verify, even when you require matching signature verification. Ballots can arrive late and raise difficult questions about when vote counting will conclude.”

For more election news and updates, visit electionbriefing.com.

Logan Washburn is a staff writer covering election integrity. He graduated from Hillsdale College, served as Christopher Rufo's editorial assistant, and has bylines in The Wall Street Journal, The Tennessean, and The Daily Caller. Logan is originally from Central Oregon but now lives in rural Michigan.