If you cannot prove which votes were mailed in (due to erasing/burning Envelopes with the signatures) you can no longer verify ANY of them.
Therefore, you must assume that ALL votes are corrupted, and therefore the vote itself is therefore impossible to certify.
"One bad apple spoils the bunch."
If you cannot prove which votes were mailed in (due to erasing/burning Envelopes with the signatures) you can no longer verify ANY of them. Therefore, you must assume that ALL votes are corrupted, and therefore the vote itself is therefore impossible to certify.