Two ballot boxes were burned in Washington and Oregon on Monday, possibly damaging hundreds of mail-in votes with only about a week to go before Election Day.
The Portland Police Bureau responded to reports of a fire in the Buckman neighborhood of the city at about 3:30 a.m. The fire had been extinguished by security personnel who work in the area, and officers soon found an “incendiary device,” characterizing the crime as arson.
The Vancouver Police Department in nearby southern Washington said in a statement that they responded to an arson at a ballot box at 4 a.m. They found smoke coming out of the box and a “suspicious object” next to it.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation said in a statement to USA TODAY that it is “coordinating with federal, state and local partners to actively investigate the two incidents.” The FBI declined to comment on whether the arsons would be investigated as a domestic terror incident in a follow-up email.
Hundreds of ballots damaged in Washington, damage limited in Portland
Clark County auditor Greg Kimsey said that a large number of ballots had been destroyed in the Vancouver fire.
“We are still in the process of coming up with a closer number, but it certainly was hundreds,” Kimsey said.
Kimsey said that the fire suppression system in the Vancouver ballot box did not work. KATU-TV reported that the last pick-up from the ballot box occurred at 11 a.m. Saturday.
USA TODAY was reaching out to Kimsey to find out what the city plans to do about the lost votes.
Multnomah County election official Tim Scott said in a joint press conference that only three ballots had been destroyed in the Portland fire and that those voters would be contacted.
The boxes that were burned are located about 15 miles away from each and police officials said that they believe the arsons are connected.
Second ballot box arson in Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver police said that Monday’s arson was similar to one that occurred Oct. 8 before ballots were being mailed, according to The Oregonian.
The Vancouver ballot box is located in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District, where Democratic House Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez is attempting to retain her seat, which she won by less than 3,000 votes in 2022 against Republican challenger Joe Kent.
Both candidates condemned the arsons on Monday.
“Southwest Washington cannot risk a single vote being lost to arson and political violence,” Gluesenkamp Perez said in a statement obtained by The Oregonian.
“Stay focused on driving voter turn out & early voting, don’t be deterred from voting by a cowardly act of terrorism,” Kent said on X.
