Two ballot drop boxes in the Pacific Northwest were set ablaze in apparent cases of arson in the early morning hours on Monday, and elections officials at one site said they feared that hundreds of ballots had been destroyed.
The police in Portland, Ore., said that officers responded around 3:30 a.m. to a fire at a ballot box in the city, eventually determining that “an incendiary device was placed inside the ballot box and used to ignite the fire.” After determining that the fire was a result of arson, the Portland Police Bureau asked the public for tips to help identify the perpetrator.
Election officials just to the north, in Vancouver, Wash., said a fire was reported at a ballot drop box there about an hour after the one in Portland. Police were also investigating that incident and reported finding a suspicious device next to the box, although officials have not declared whether they suspect the two fires are linked.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation said it was investigating both incidents “to determine who is responsible.”
“It’s heartbreaking,” Greg Kimsey, the Clark County auditor, said in an interview. “It’s a direct attack on democracy. Interfering with people’s vote is anti-American.”
Mr. Kimsey estimated that hundreds of ballots were destroyed in the Vancouver box. He said that anybody who had deposited their ballot in that drop box after 11 a.m. on Saturday, when the box was last emptied, should contact the elections department to get a replacement.
Elections officials in Portland said fire suppressant that was “inside the ballot box” protected almost all the ballots there. For three that suffered damage, the Multnomah County Elections Division said it would contact each voter to ensure they receive a replacement ballot. The department urged people to call 911 if they notice suspicious activity around any ballot box.
The fires come just days after a fire at a Phoenix curbside postal collection box led to the arrest of a man now accused of arson. That fire damaged mail and about 20 ballots. Police officials there have said that the man who was arrested did not appear to have political motivations but had told officers that he wanted to be arrested.
Neither Oregon nor Washington are considered swing states in the presidential election, but both have a range of closely watched elections further down the ballot. Vancouver voters are among those deciding the competitive 3rd Congressional District race between Representative Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, a Democrat, and the Republican challenger, Joe Kent. Portland has a tense mayoral race on the ballot.
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