A box containing 500 blank Maine absentee ballot return envelopes was delivered to a residential address in Cambridge, Maryland—the listed headquarters of the Center for Civic Design—before investigators recovered 498 of the envelopes and closed the probe without determining how the package was redirected.
A Missing Box Takes an Unexpected Turn
On September 10, 2025, Adam Graphic Corp. of North Attleboro, Massachusetts, shipped 62 boxes to Maine election officials in Augusta. Each box held 500 blank absentee ballot return envelopes. By the next day, officials had received 61 boxes. The missing box later surfaced around September 13 at a residential address in Cambridge, Maryland. It was marked return-to-sender from a UPS facility in Chelmsford, Massachusetts. That address was listed as the headquarters of the Center for Civic Design, and the state printer said the nonprofit was neither a customer nor the intended recipient.
Investigators Found the Envelopes, Not the Explanation
State investigative records obtained by The Maine Wire show detectives recovered 498 of the 500 envelopes from the Center for Civic Design. A CCD employee reportedly received about 100 envelopes and secured the package, which officials later confirmed matched the missing shipment. UPS told authorities that a subpoena would be required for additional tracking and surveillance records. The Attorney General’s office concluded there was not enough information to issue one. The investigation was closed pending further information, with the reason for the redirection still described as speculative. That is not exactly a model of election transparency.
Another Maine Ballot Incident Raised More Questions
The same period brought another troubling election-materials incident. A Newburgh, Maine, resident discovered 250 authentic absentee ballots packed inside an Amazon delivery box at her home, in a case first exposed by The Robinson Report. Bellows initially vowed to pursue the “bad actors” behind what was described as one of the worst election security breaches in decades. Yet neither case produced a public accounting identifying how the materials left the controlled chain of custody. Voters were left with recovered materials, unanswered questions, and delivery problems without a full public explanation.
The Nonprofit’s Political and Funding Ties
The Center for Civic Design is a Maryland-based 501(c)(3) that works on ballot design and election administration. Tax filings cited in the reporting list New Venture Fund grants of $138,000 to the group in 2020, 2021, and 2022. CCD also received support from the Democracy Fund and the MacArthur Foundation. New Venture Fund sits within the Arabella Advisors network, which has received substantial funding from Soros foundations. CCD leadership has included individuals with prior Arabella roles. The nonprofit also had longstanding ties to Maine’s election system. Bellows, while a state lawmaker, co-sponsored automatic voter registration legislation that CCD helped develop, and the group later tested Maine’s election materials.
Officials Kept the Public Waiting
Bellows and her office kept the recipient’s identity from public view for months. During a January hearing before the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee, Bellows and Deputy Secretary Julie Flynn could not recall the organization’s name. A Freedom of Access Act request filed in February went unanswered for 228 days, and the name was disclosed only in late September 2026, weeks before the current election. Republican lawmakers said their direct requests were ignored. Bellows never publicly announced that the probe had ended. She blamed UPS for the delivery failures and announced a switch to another carrier, but the records show the state did not pursue the subpoena route UPS said was required for additional tracking and surveillance records.
This box of Maine absentee ballot return envelopes was shipped to a residential house in Maryland.
The house happens to be the listed HQ for a Soros-funded electioneering non-profit.
Maine's AG closed the investigation with no answers as to how it happened… https://t.co/J8v66nuYkm pic.twitter.com/UXFVlk2JFD
— The Maine Wire (@TheMaineWire) October 26, 2026