Authorities are investigating two fires set in ballot drop boxes early Monday morning in Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington, which destroyed hundreds of ballots.
Portland Police reported that officers and firefighters responded around 3:30 a.m. to a fire in a ballot drop box. Investigators found that an incendiary device had been placed inside. Multnomah County Elections Director Tim Scott noted that a fire suppressant in the box preserved nearly all the ballots, with only three sustaining damage. His office plans to contact those affected voters to help them obtain replacement ballots.
Hours later, in Vancouver, television crews captured smoke rising from a ballot box at the Fisher’s Landing Transit Center. Vancouver is the largest city in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District, where a tight U.S. House race is underway between Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and Republican challenger Joe Kent.
Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey confirmed that responders pulled a burning pile of ballots from the box, and hundreds were lost. Although the drop box had a fire suppression system, it failed to prevent the fire from spreading. Surveillance cameras covered the box and surrounding area, providing footage that could aid in the investigation.
Kimsey’s office urged anyone who dropped a ballot in the box after the last pickup, at 11 a.m. Saturday, to contact the auditor’s office for a new one. Moving forward, ballot collection times will be shifted to evenings to prevent drop boxes from being full overnight, a period when similar incidents are more likely.
This fire follows an incident on October 8, when an incendiary device was found near a downtown Vancouver ballot box, though it caused no damage. The FBI and other agencies are investigating.
Both Washington and Oregon conduct elections by mail, with voters returning ballots either by mail or by placing them in drop boxes. Last week in Phoenix, officials reported that a fire set in a drop box at a U.S. Postal Service station destroyed five ballots and damaged others.
