Ballot drop boxes set on fire in Oregon, Washington

Police said incendiary devices linked the blazes in Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington to each other

(Image credit: Jenny Kane / AP Photo)

What happened

The FBI and other law enforcement agencies are investigating fires set early Monday in two ballot drop boxes in Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington, just across the Columbia River. Portland police said incendiary devices linked the blazes to each other and to an Oct. 8 arson attempt at a different ballot box in Vancouver. Law enforcement is searching for a Volvo captured on Portland surveillance cameras.

Who said what

Fire suppressants installed inside the boxes saved all the ballots on Oct. 8 and all but three in Portland, but the retardant device failed in Vancouver yesterday. Hundreds of ballots "are completely destroyed," longtime Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey said to NPR. "It's heartbreaking. It's a direct attack on democracy."

The three Portland voters will be contacted for replacement ballots, officials said, but Vancouver voters should check the status of their ballots online and request a new one if necessary. The damaged ballots in Vancouver are from a "Democratic stronghold" in Washington's 3rd Congressional District, "home to one of the most closely fought congressional races in the country," The Oregonian said. Democratic incumbent Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez will need a strong showing in Vancouver to beat Republican challenger Joe Kent in their rematch.

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Oregon and Washington vote by mail, and ballot boxes are longtime fixtures. But the drop boxes "have faced increasing criticism from Republicans and have been the focus of baseless right-wing conspiracy theories in recent years," The Associated Press said. The Department of Homeland Security warned in a September intelligence brief that drop boxes are viewed as "soft targets" in online "forums frequented by [domestic violent extremists] and other threat actors with election-related grievances," according to NPR.

What next?

Officials in Portland and Vancouver said they would increase patrols and surveillance of ballot drop boxes.

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.