Interpreters in Lewiston, Maine, have been observed touching ballots and placing ballots into envelopes.
Posted by Badlands Media, Checked
- Sources
- 7 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 40%
Badlands MediaOct 21, 2026
The only direct account of touching and envelope-placing is the claimant's own reporting (Maine Wire reporter Jon Fetherston), which other outlets repeat without independent verification. Official responses are limited to DOJ reviewing footage and the clerk distributing guidance, so the sources show the observations were claimed but do not confirm or dispute them.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What was said
… Hey, guys, how are you? Good to see you. Interpreters are being walked in. We've noticed that interpreters are talking to people and pointing at the ballots, and actually, we've noticed a couple of people actually touching the ballots. We noticed a person yesterday actually handling a ballot and actually putting a ballot in an envelope, and I did bring it to the city clerk's attention because that is a flagrant misuse of the ballots. Interesting here that when I asked some of the interpreters today who they were working for, they didn't want to answer the question. …
Badlands Media · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Context. The Daily Wire reports that Fetherston said on Oct. 20 he saw interpreters "pointing at the ballots" and "a couple of people actually touching the ballots."[1]
Context. A later passage quoting Fetherston says he saw interpreters handling ballots and one fold a ballot and place it into an envelope, but this is the reporter's own account repeated by outlets, not independent confirmation.[2]
Context. The Maine Wire's footage claims that assistants "appear to point at choices on ballots and even fill them out" are repeated by The Federalist; the footage itself has not been independently verified in these sources.[3][7]
Context. The U.S. Attorney's office says it is reviewing the Lewiston City Hall footage, but it has not stated any finding about ballot handling, and the Justice Department generally does not confirm or deny investigations.[4][5]
Context. The Lewiston clerk's office says an allegation involving an interpreter has not been independently verified and is distributing guidance reminding assistants not to influence voters' choices.[6]
Sources
7 sources: 1 tier 3, 5 not rated, 1 rated low
- 1DOJ Reviewing Video After Claims Somali Voters Were Illegally ...dailywire.com · tier 3 · cited for: context
- 2DOJ Sends Monitors to Maine Amid Voting Law Concernsdailytruthfighter.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 3DOJ Investigating Somali “Translators” Caught on CCTV Coaching ...robinsonreport.substack.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 4What we know about the Lewiston voting footage federal prosecutors are reviewingbangordailynews.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 5Maine Voting Videos Draw DOJ Scrutinyyahoo.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 6Lewiston takes steps to address voter intimidation complaints during early votingnewscentermaine.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 7Somali 'Interpreters' Raise Electioneering Concerns In Mainethefederalist.com · rated low for factual reporting by Iffy.news · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
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