In the early hours of Monday, October 28, a ballot drop box in Portland, Oregon, and another in Vancouver, Washington, were set on fire, destroying hundreds of ballots. Authorities are currently investigating these two incidents.
According to the Associated Press, the Portland Police Bureau reported that police and firefighters discovered a ballot drop box on fire around 3:30 am and confirmed that an incendiary device was placed inside the box. Tim Scot, the elections director of Multnomah County, stated that the fire suppression system installed on the drop box nearly protected all the ballots, with only three damaged. His office plans to contact these three voters to assist them in obtaining replacement ballots.
Several hours later, across the Columbia River in Vancouver, Washington, television crews captured smoke billowing from a ballot box at the Fisher’s Landing Transit Center. Greg Kimsey, the Clark County Auditor, told the Associated Press that while the ballot drop box at the transit center was equipped with a fire suppression system, it inexplicably did not function. Rescue personnel retrieved a stack of burning ballots, with several hundred destroyed.
Kimsey expressed his dismay, describing it as a direct attack on democracy. He emphasized that both the ballot drop box and the surrounding area are equipped with surveillance cameras.
The last time ballots were collected from the drop box was on Saturday morning, October 26. Kimsey advised anyone who voted after that time to contact the auditor’s office to receive new ballots.
He mentioned that the office would increase the frequency of ballot collection and shift the collection time to evenings to prevent the boxes from becoming full at night. This adjustment aims to reduce the likelihood of similar crimes occurring under the cover of darkness.
Vancouver is the largest city in Washington’s Third Congressional District and is expected to be a hotly contested area in the upcoming U.S. House elections. Incumbent Democratic Representative Marie Gluesenkamp Perez will face off against Republican challenger Joe Kent.
Both Washington and Oregon are states that allow mail-in voting. Registered voters receive mail-in ballots several weeks before the election and can return them by mail or place them in ballot drop boxes.