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    • Ballots were destroyed in arsons in Portland and Washington state
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    Ballots were destroyed in arsons in Portland and Washington state

    Kathleen William Posted on

    On Monday morning, two ballot box arsons occurred 15 miles apart in Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington. The fires come almost a week before the election.

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    On Monday, two ballot drop boxes were burned in Washington and Oregon, potentially damaging hundreds of absentee ballots, just about a week before Election Day.

    The Portland Police Bureau responded to reports of a fire in the Buckman neighborhood around 3:30 a.m. The fire had been extinguished by security forces working in the area, and officers soon found an “incendiary device” that characterized the crime as arson.

    The Vancouver Police Department in nearby southern Washington said in a statement that it responded to an arson at a ballot box at 4 a.m. She found smoke coming from the ballot 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 in a follow-up email on whether the arsons were being investigated as a domestic terrorism incident.

    Hundreds of ballots damaged in Washington, damage limited in Portland

    Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey said at a joint news conference that a large number of ballots were destroyed in the Vancouver fire.

    “We're still trying to get a closer number, but it was certainly in the hundreds,” Kimsey said.

    Kimsey said the fire suppression system at the ballot box in Vancouver was not working. The last ballot drop pickup was at 11 a.m. Saturday, Kimsey told USA TODAY in an interview.

    Kimsey said voters who believe their ballot was in the ballot box at the time of the fire can request a new ballot on the county's election website. He further said that police and civilian security will be increased around the mailboxes and ballot collection will take place at 5:30 p.m

    Tim Scott, Multnomah County elections director, said in the news conference that only three ballots were destroyed in the Portland fire and that those voters would be contacted.

    The burned boxes are each about 15 miles (24 kilometers) away, and law enforcement officials said they believe the arsons are related.

    Second ballot box arson in Vancouver, Washington

    According to The Oregonian, Vancouver police said Monday's arson was similar to an arson that occurred on October 8, before ballots were mailed.

    The Vancouver ballot box is in Washington's 3rd Congressional District, where Democratic House Speaker Marie Gluesenkamp Perez is trying to retain the seat she won in 2022 by fewer than 3,000 votes 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. “We must not give in to intimidation and must continue to defend ourselves against unpatriotic acts like this.”

    “Continue to focus on increasing voter turnout and early voting. “Don’t let a cowardly act of terrorism stop you from voting,” Kent said on X.

    This story has been updated with new information.

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    Kathleen William
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