SEATTLE — Authorities are currently conducting an investigation following fires that occurred early on Monday morning in ballot drop boxes located in Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington. These incidents have resulted in the destruction of hundreds of ballots.
The Portland Police Bureau reported that their personnel, along with firefighters, responded to a fire at a drop box around 3:30 a.m. Upon investigation, they discovered that an incendiary device had been placed inside the ballot box. According to Tim Scott, the Elections Director for Multnomah County, a fire suppression mechanism inside the drop box managed to protect almost all of the ballots, with only three being damaged. The office intends to reach out to the affected voters to assist them in acquiring replacement ballots.
Several hours later, in Vancouver, Washington, smoke was seen emanating from a ballot box located at a transit center. This location falls within Washington’s 3rd Congressional District, which is currently witnessing one of the most hotly contested U.S. House races between first-term Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and Republican candidate Joe Kent.
In Vancouver, Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey explained that the ballot drop box at the Fisher’s Landing Transit Center also had a fire suppression system, but it unfortunately failed to work as expected. Emergency responders were able to recover burning ballots from inside the box, but Kimsey confirmed that hundreds of ballots were lost. He described the incident as “heartbreaking,” labeling it as a direct strike against democracy.
Kimsey mentioned that the last collection of ballots from the transit center drop box took place at 11 a.m. on Saturday, and urged anyone who had deposited their ballot there after that time to reach out to the auditor’s office for a replacement.
Plans are underway to enhance the frequency of ballot collections, with Kimsey indicating that collection times will be adjusted to evenings in order to minimize the risk of similar incidents occurring when ballot boxes are left full overnight.
Additionally, an incendiary device was discovered near a ballot drop box in downtown Vancouver on October 8. Fortunately, this device did not cause any damage to the box or the ballots inside, according to police reports. The FBI, along with other agencies, is also looking into these incidents.
Both Washington and Oregon operate under a vote-by-mail system, where registered voters receive their ballots through the mail weeks ahead of the elections and can return them either by mail or by using designated ballot drop boxes.
In related news, in Phoenix last week, officials reported that a small number of ballots were destroyed and others were damaged due to a fire set in a drop box located at a U.S. Postal Service station.