Officials Suspect 2 Pacific Northwest Ballot Box Fires Are Connected

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Americans Head To The Polls To Vote In The 2022 Midterm Elections

Voters cast their ballots at official ballot boxes on November 8, 2022 in Portland, Oregon.


Hundreds of election ballots were destroyed early Monday morning after a ballot box caught fire in the Washington state city of Vancouver, Clark County Elections Auditor Greg Kimsey confirmed to Forbes—and it was the second of two incidents of its kind in the area that police said later Monday may be related.


Key Facts

A ballot box at a public transit center was set on fire after someone stuck an incendiary device to the outside of the box that sparked the flames, according to the local Fox station, though Kimsey said he could not comment on what started the fire.

Ballots had not been picked up from the box since Saturday morning, and Kimsey said “hundreds” were destroyed.

Anyone who dropped their ballot in the box at Fisher's Landing Transit Center after 11 a.m. Saturday can contact Clark County Elections for a replacement.Kimsey said his office will be modifying its ballot retrieval schedule in response to the incident.

Another ballot box in southeast Portland, Oregon—just miles from Vancouver, Washington—was damaged around 3:30 a.m. Monday, according to local news outlets, but there was no information yet available as to how many, if any, ballots were damaged.


Police said Monday afternoon an identical Volvo was seen at both scenes and similar “incendiary devices”—which Portland officials believe was attached to the side of the box—were used in both the Portland and Vancouver attacks, NBC News reported.

The FBI is investigating the two incidents along with the two local police departments.

Crucial Quote

“We do know acts like this are targeted ... and we’re concerned about that intentional act trying to impact the election process. We’re dedicated to stopping this kind of behavior,” Portland Police Bureau Assistant Chief Amanda McMillan said in a statement Monday afternoon.

Tangent

These are not the first ballot box fires to be reported this election season. A man was arrested in Phoenix on Thursday after allegedly setting fire to a United States Postal Service mailbox that had several early voting ballots inside, though police said his motives were not political.

Key Background

There is a tight congressional race in the Washington state district in which the ballot box fire was reported Monday. In Washington's 3rd Congressional District, Republican candidate Joe Kent is running to unseat Democratic incumbent Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, a rematch of Kent and Gluesenkamp Perez’s tight 2022 race. On Thursday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., visited the district to campaign for Kent, and said “My presence here shows you how important this district is to all of America."

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