Ballot drop box fires under investigation in Oregon, Washington after hundreds of ballots destroyed

By Nicole Chavez and Taylor Romine, CNN

(CNN) — Federal authorities are investigating fires at two ballot boxes reported Monday morning in the Portland, Oregon, area that destroyed hundreds of ballots at one location, as well as another fire reported earlier this month.

Evidence from the incendiary devices found at the 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. While many of the ballots in Portland were unaffected, hundreds of ballots were destroyed in a Vancouver ballot box, election officials said.

Portland police also identified a “suspect vehicle” seen leaving the scene of the fire in Portland, which is believed to be tied to the two incidents in Vancouver as well, they said in a news release Monday. The car appears to be “a black or dark-colored 2001-2004 Volvo S-60” that’s missing a front plate and has an unknown rear plate, they said.

“We don’t know the motives behind these acts, sounds 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 Monday. “We are concerned about that intentional act trying to affect the election process. We’re dedicated to stopping that kind of behavior and we are working toward that 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.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said in a statement Monday evening “there will be 24-hour enhanced security around ballot drop-off locations.”

“While law enforcement investigates this incident, we urge concerned Vancouver-area voters to check with the Clark County Auditor’s office or VoteWA.gov for accurate information about how to obtain a replacement ballot or track their ballot once it has been returned. There are multiple ways for voters to cast their ballot and make sure their voice is heard,” he said.

Early morning calls on ballot boxes

Police responded to a call about a fire in Portland about 3:30 a.m. Monday, the Portland Police Bureau said in a statement. An “incendiary device” was attached to the side of the box and security personnel extinguished the fire, officials said. Police previously said the device was placed inside the box.

While three ballots were damaged, 409 ballots were protected by fire suppressant inside the box, Multnomah County Elections Director Tim Scott said.

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.

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 destroyed, according to Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey.

“Some were damaged and might be able to be duplicated and then processed, some were severely damaged, some were completely destroyed,” he told CNN.

An incendiary device was also found at a ballot box in Vancouver on October 8 after someone called to report that the ballot box was smokey, Benner said.

Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs condemned the fire and confirmed some ballots were damaged.

“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.”

All ballot boxes in Multnomah County and Clark County have fire suppressant installed, election officials said during a news conference Monday. In Multnomah County, voting by mail is the most popular method as less than 1% of people vote in person, Scott told CNN; in Clark County, 60% of the ballots received are from ballot drop boxes, Kimsey said.

Next steps as Election Day nears

The ballot box in Portland has already been replaced, said Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson, and law enforcement in Multnomah County and Vancouver, Washington, plan to increase patrols of ballot boxes in the area.

The 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 requested an overnight law enforcement presence at ballot boxes in Clark County through Election Day following the damage. Speaking with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins Monday, she said she isn’t mad about the damaged ballots for partisan reasons, but “because I’m an American who sees the corrosive and toxic environment that we’ve seen across the country come home in a really damaging and ugly way.”

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 come after the FBI and Department of Homeland Security recently issued a bulletin raising concerns “election-related grievances,” such as a belief 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.”

Benner said he doesn’t have any information on if these incidents are related to the bulletin, but noted that Portland police’s criminal intelligence unit “is monitoring anything and everything” related to planned attacks on ballot boxes or civil unrest.

CNN’s Chris Boyette, Ethan Cohen, Sean Lyngaas and Natasha Chen contributed to this report.

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