Investigators responding to arson fires at two ballot boxes in the Pacific Northwest this week found devices at both scenes marked with the words “Free Gaza,” according to two law enforcement officials.
Investigators are trying to determine if the perpetrator was actually a pro-Palestinian activist or someone using that prominent cause to sow discord, one of the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing. But the message has added a heightened layer of political sensitivity to a closely watched investigation in the final days of a tense presidential election.
The fires both occurred early Monday within a short time of each other in Portland, Ore., and just across the state line in Vancouver, Wash.
The “Free Gaza” message appeared not only on the two devices, which were discovered on Monday, but also on a device found at a third ballot box this month in Vancouver, according to the law enforcement officials. That device also had the words “Free Palestine” on it.
Officials said at a news conference that they believed all three events were linked. They later released surveillance images of a suspect vehicle, asking for the public’s help in identifying the person driving a dark, early 2000s Volvo.
“There was enough evidence collected at all three scenes that lead us to believe that all three incidents are connected, and we cannot get into more detail,” Mike Benner, a spokesman for the Portland Police Bureau, said on Monday.
On Tuesday, Mr. Benner said he did not know details of any markings but said that the device found attached to the ballot box in Portland has been sent for forensic analysis. “As part of that analysis, the device will be examined for unique writings and markings,” he said. A motive has not been determined, he added.
One of the law enforcement officials with knowledge of the markings said that all three devices were sent to the terrorist explosive device analytical center in Huntsville, Ala.
In Portland, election officials said, the ballot box’s automatic fire suppressant system protected almost all the ballots. Election officials were reaching out to three voters whose ballots were damaged.
Soon after, a fire erupted at a ballot box in Vancouver. The fire suppressant system there did not contain the blaze, and hundreds of ballots were destroyed, officials said. They are asking anyone who dropped a ballot there after late Saturday morning, when the box was last emptied, to request a replacement ballot.
Washington and Oregon are not considered to be swing states in this election, although there are several closely watched races there, including a congressional race in southwest Washington that is considered one of the nation’s most competitive. Portland is electing a new mayor.
Both states depend on mail-voting systems, in which voters receive ballots in the mail that can be sent back via mail or dropped off at a ballot box. A few months ago, the Homeland Security Department warned in an intelligence report about the threat of “incendiary and explosive materials” being dropped into ballot boxes.
To further protect their ballot boxes, officials in Clark County, which includes Vancouver, said on Monday that the 22 drop boxes in the area would have observers watching them 24 hours a day. Law enforcement agencies also vowed to increase patrols around the drop boxes.
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