If the ballots are separated from the envelope, all of the information to answer those questions is lost - which is part of the appeal of mail in; they can say whatever and if they convince you that the burden of proof is on YOU then there's nothing you can do to prove fraud.
But the burden of proof is on the state, which is why any mechanic that defies their ability to certify (prove) the validity of a ballot before during and after, is a mechanic incompatible with a secure election. That is important because in order to be valid, an election must be secure.
Their inability to validate that those ballots were appropriate for disposal removes the possibility that the election was secure, making the results invalid.
At the end of the day, the MCBS is required by law to present the ballots their senate has requested as part of the audit, and if they can't (because some or all were shredded) then they are fucked. Again, the burden of proof isn't yours, it's the state's. And in case, it's the MCBS. Destruction of evidence which is necessary to prove a crime IS evidence of the alleged crime having been committed.
If the ballots are separated from the envelope, all of the information to answer those questions is lost - which is part of the appeal of mail in; they can say whatever and if they convince you that the burden of proof is on YOU then there's nothing you can do to prove fraud.
But the burden of proof is on the state, which is why any mechanic that defies their ability to certify (prove) the validity of a ballot before during and after, is a mechanic incompatible with a secure election. That is important because in order to be valid, an election must be secure.
Their inability to validate that those ballots were appropriate for disposal removes the possibility that the election was secure, making the results invalid.
At the end of the day, the MCBS is required by law to present the ballots their senate has requested as part of the audit, and if they can't (because some or all were shredded) then they are fucked. Again, the burden of proof isn't yours, it's the state's. And in case, it's the MCBS. Destruction of evidence which is necessary to prove a crime IS evidence of the alleged crime having been committed.