In a disturbing incident just a week before Election Day, incendiary devices were set off at two ballot drop boxes – one in Portland, Oregon, and another in Vancouver, Washington, destroying hundreds of ballots. The fire at the Portland drop box was quickly extinguished thanks to a suppression system inside the box and a nearby security guard, with only three ballots being damaged. However, a few hours later, another fire was discovered in a drop box at a transit center in Vancouver, where hundreds of ballots were destroyed. The auditor of Clark County, Washington, called it a “direct attack on democracy” and urged affected voters to contact his office for replacement ballots.
Following the incidents, authorities in Clark County decided to hire workers through a staffing agency to monitor all drop boxes 24 hours a day until the election is over. The workers will observe the ballot boxes and report any suspicious activity to the authorities without confronting anyone. Ballot drop boxes have been under increased scrutiny and criticism from Republicans in recent years, with baseless conspiracy theories tying them to former President Donald Trump’s claims of election fraud in 2020. Nevertheless, an AP survey did not find widespread issues with drop boxes in the 2020 election and six states have actually moved to ban them.
Surveillance images showed a Volvo pulling up to the Portland drop box just before the fire started, indicating a deliberate act. Both fires on Monday and an incident on October 8 in Vancouver were connected to incendiary devices placed on the outside of the drop boxes. The FBI is currently investigating the crimes. While the fire suppression system in the Portland drop box worked successfully, preventing the destruction of more ballots, it failed in the Vancouver drop box, resulting in the loss of hundreds of ballots. Political figures in the area have condemned the attacks as acts of terrorism and called for increased security measures.
Voters who had used the affected drop boxes were urged to check the status of their ballots online and request replacements if needed. Despite the incidents, officials reassured the public that measures were being taken to ensure the security of the election process. Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs and Governor Jay Inslee denounced the attacks and committed to maintaining the integrity of the election. Oregon Governor Tina Kotek called the incidents un-American and promised to uphold the democratic process. Washington and Oregon, both vote-by-mail states, have long used ballot drop boxes, which have been a target of partisan controversy in recent years.
As voters continued to drop off their ballots, some expressed shock and concern over the attacks on the drop boxes. A sense of resilience prevailed as officials and law enforcement vowed to protect the democratic process from such acts of violence. The incidents in Portland and Vancouver served as a reminder of the importance of safeguarding the election system and ensuring that every vote is counted accurately. In a related incident in Phoenix, roughly five ballots were destroyed in a fire set at a U.S. Postal Service station drop box. The community and officials alike remain vigilant in the face of these threats to democracy.
