News of arsons that broke out at ballot drop boxes in Vancouver, Washington, and Portland, Oregon, on Monday show that not all threats to the integrity of our elections come from well-organized militias or foreign governments. The Portland Police Bureau has already released photos of a vehicle that authorities say was involved in at least one of the incidents and possibly others. “We do not know the motive behind these actions,” Deputy Chief Amanda McMillan said in a statement. “We know that such actions are targeted and deliberate, and we are concerned that this deliberate action seeks to influence the electoral process. We are committed to stopping this type of behavior.”

That's good to hear. Clearly there are individuals determined to ruin our elections. And federal and state authorities must stop this kind of violence before the situation spirals further out of control.

In Oregon, the Multnomah County Elections Department said in a statement that “the fire extinguishers in the ballot box protected virtually all ballots.” Three ballots were damaged and Tim Scott, the county's elections director, said affected voters would be contacted.

But even if ballots were destroyed in this week's fires, voters should still be able to cast replacement ballots.

Voters in Oregon and Washington are fortunate to live in states with excellent election administration, including sophisticated systems to track the ballot's journey from being sent to a voter to being received by election officials. Voters who may have cast their ballots in one of the affected ballot boxes will have ample opportunity to contact election officials and obtain replacement ballots and then cast them. This way they can ensure that this despicable anti-democratic act does not deprive them of their right to vote.

But there could be more attempts to disrupt the 2024 election next week that may not be so easy to fix. (In one of the final episodes of the television show “Succession,” a not-unbelievable fire occurs that destroys 100,000 uncounted mail-in ballots in Milwaukee, with serious if fictional consequences for the election.) And even if they are not large-scale attacks on ours Electoral processes, even fear of violence or interference, could deter people from voting. In 2022, for example, vigilantes patrolled a polling area in Arizona before a federal court ordered the intimidating behavior. We do not know what individuals or groups have planned for this time, but government officials warn of possible extremist violence.

Because of the possibility of escalation in violence, it is critical for law enforcement to prioritize the investigation and prosecution of Monday's election attacks. The FBI says it is coordinating with local authorities on what is the right move. We need strong law enforcement action to identify the perpetrators of these crimes and bring them to justice.