By Federal authorities are investigating fires at two ballot drop boxes reported Monday morning in the Portland, Oregon area, as well as another fire reported earlier this month. Evidence from the incendiary devices found at both ballot boxes Monday show the fires are connected, as well as a third incident reported in Vancouver, Washington, on October 8, said Mike Benner, a spokesperson for Portland Police Bureau.
Portland police have also identified a ‘suspect vehicle’ seen leaving the scene of the fire in Portland, which they believe is connected to the two incidents in Vancouver, according to a news release on Monday. The car is described as ‘a black or dark-colored 2001-2004 Volvo S-60’ that is missing a front plate and has an unknown rear plate. ‘We don’t know the motives behind these acts—it seems like a series of three at this point—but we do know that acts like this are targeted and intentional,’ Portland Police Bureau Assistant Chief Amanda McMillan said during a news conference on Monday. ‘We are concerned about this deliberate attempt to affect the election process. We’re dedicated to stopping this kind of behavior, and we are actively working toward that goal today.”
Meanwhile, the FBI is running a “separate but parallel investigation” into the matter, Benner said. The agency’s Seattle office confirmed to CNN they are working on the investigation.
Someone used an incendiary device to set fire to a ballot box in Portland, but few ballots were damaged, Portland Police said. (Alex Baumhardt/Oregon Capital Chronicle)
Early Morning Calls on Ballot Boxes
Police responded to a call about a fire in Portland around 3:30 a.m. on Monday, the Portland Police Bureau said in a statement. An “incendiary device” was found attached to the side of the box, and security personnel quickly extinguished the fire, officials said. Police previously said the device was placed inside the box.
Multnomah County Elections Director Tim Scott confirmed that while three ballots were damaged, 409 ballots remained safe, protected by fire suppressant within the box.
The second ballot box was set on fire early Monday morning at a bus station in Vancouver, Washington, according to the Vancouver Police Department. When officers arrived, they found a “suspicious device” next to the box, which was smoking and on fire, police said.
Another incendiary device was reported at a Vancouver ballot box on October 8, after a caller noticed smoke rising from the box, according to spokesperson Mike Benner.
Laura Shepard, a spokesperson for the city of Vancouver, said elections officials are asking anyone who may have placed a ballot in the box after 11 a.m. on Saturday to contact them to check the status of their ballot. Election officials are still counting all the ballots involved in the Vancouver fire, but believe hundreds of ballots were affected, according to Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey. Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs condemned the fire and confirmed some ballots were damaged.
Police said an “incendiary device” was found in a ballot box in Oregon’s largest city, while local officials said potentially “hundreds” of ballots were damaged in Vancouver, Washington.
“We take the safety of our election workers seriously and will not tolerate threats or acts of violence that seek to undermine the democratic process,” Hobbs said, adding he has “complete confidence in our county elections officials’ ability to keep Washington’s elections safe and secure for all voters.”
Officials in Portland plan to contact the three affected voters “via unique identifiers on their ballot envelopes, so they can receive replacement ballots.” Voters who dropped their ballots at the box between 3:30 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Monday should reach out to the Multnomah County Elections Division if they have concerns, Scott said.
“Voters should be assured that, even if their ballots were in the affected box, their votes will be counted,” Scott said.
Oregon Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade said the fire was “an attack on our democracy and completely unacceptable. Whatever the motivation behind this incident, there is no justification for any attempt to disenfranchise voters.”
During a news conference Monday, election officials noted that all ballot boxes in Multnomah County and Clark County are equipped with fire suppressants. Scott added that less than 1% of Multnomah County’s population votes in person, with voting by mail being the predominant method.
A ballot drop box in Vancouver, Washington., was set ablaze early Monday morning, destroying hundreds of ballots.
Next Steps as Election Day Approaches
The ballot box in Portland has already been replaced, according to Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson. Law enforcement agencies in Multnomah County and Vancouver, Washington, are planning to increase patrols around ballot boxes in the area.
The two ballot boxes are about 15 miles apart. The one in Vancouver is in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District, where one of the most competitive House races in the country is taking place.
The district is represented by Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, one of five seats held by Democrats in a district former President Donald Trump won in 2020. She is facing a rematch against Republican Joe Kent, a retired Green Beret who had Trump’s endorsement.
Gluesenkamp Perez said in a statement Monday she is requesting an overnight law enforcement presence at ballot boxes in Clark County through Election Day, saying, “Southwest Washington cannot risk a single vote being lost to arson and political violence.”
Authorities respond to a fire at a ballot box in Portland, Oregon, Oct. 28. 2024.
Other fires affecting ballots have been recently reported across the country. Last week, a mailbox outside a Phoenix post office was set on fire, damaging an unknown number of ballots. A 35-year-old man was charged with arson in connection with the incident. The Phoenix Police Department said he told them it was not politically motivated.
The fires follow a recent bulletin issued by the FBI and Department of Homeland Security, raising concerns that ‘election-related grievances,’ such as beliefs in voter fraud, could motivate domestic extremists to engage in violence in the weeks before and after the November election.
In the intelligence bulletin, obtained by CNN, the agencies said some domestic violent extremists likely see publicly accessible locations, including ballot drop boxes, as “attractive targets.”
Although Benner said he doesn’t have specific information linking these incidents to the bulletin, he noted that Portland police’s criminal intelligence unit “is monitoring anything and everything” related to planned attacks on ballot boxes or civil unrest.
A replacement ballot drop box is unloaded on Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Claire Rush) (AP)
