Authorities in Oregon and Washington are investigating after incendiary devices set off at ballot drop boxes destroyed hundreds of ballots just days before the election, prompting officials to increase security and offer replacement ballots. In Portland, Oregon, a fire set at a ballot drop box was quickly extinguished by an internal suppression system, causing only minor damage to three ballots.
However, a separate incident at a Vancouver, Washington, drop box resulted in the destruction of hundreds of ballots after a fire suppression system there failed to contain the flames. This attack is especially concerning for Vancouver residents, as the city is at the center of one of the country’s most competitive congressional races between Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and Republican Joe Kent.
Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey, who oversees elections in Vancouver, urged anyone who dropped their ballot at the transit center drop box after Saturday morning to contact his office for a replacement ballot. In response to the fires, election officials are increasing the frequency of ballot collections and shifting collection times to evening hours to reduce the risk of future incidents. Officials are calling these fires a “direct attack on democracy,” with both the FBI and local authorities investigating the incidents as an apparent effort to disrupt the voting process.
Security footage captured a Volvo near the Portland drop box fire, and evidence from the incendiary devices suggests all the fires are linked to previous vandalism at a ballot box in Vancouver earlier this month.
