The AFL has revealed that the Brownlow Medal votes for the Melbourne-West Coast game last month were lost.

The umpires had to re-submit their votes for the round-eight game after they were not delivered to the league the following Monday.

The signed and sealed envelope was supposed to be part of the umpires' match paperwork.

Given the importance of the Brownlow, it is an embarrassing slip-up for the league and the umpiring department.

"A full search was conducted of the umpire change rooms and adjoining areas, along with interviews with all match-day staff who had access to the area in the post-game period, which did not uncover the envelope containing the votes and concluded that it had been misplaced," the AFL said in a statement.

The Brownlow is the AFL's most prestigious individual award and the league goes to great lengths to keep the votes secure before the medal count, which is held in grand final week.

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