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Ballot box fires in Oregon, Washington are under investigation
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Ballot box fires in Oregon, Washington are under investigation



CNN

Federal authorities are investigating fires at two ballot drop boxes reported Monday morning in the Portland, Oregon, area.

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

Federal officials are investigating the incident in Portland and a second fire in nearby Vancouver, Washington, with the assistance of state and local law enforcement agencies, said Steve Bernd, a spokesman for the FBI’s Seattle office.

Nearly all of the ballots were protected by fire extinguishers in the box, but three were damaged, Multnomah County Elections Director Tim Scott said in a statement.

Officials 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 in the mail between 3:30 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Monday should contact the Multnomah County Elections Department if they have any concerns, Scott said.

“Voters should be assured that even if their ballots are in the appropriate box, their votes will be counted,” Scott said.

The second ballot box was set on fire at a Vancouver bus station early Monday morning, according to Vancouver police. When officers arrived, they found a “suspicious device” next to the box, which was smoking and on fire, police said.

The Clark County Elections Office said hundreds of ballots were damaged in the box at the C-TRAN Park and Ride at Fisher’s Landing Transit Center, This was reported by CNN affiliate KPTV.

Laura Shepard, a spokeswoman for the City of Vancouver, said election officials are asking anyone who mailed in a ballot after 11 a.m. Saturday to contact them to check the status of their ballot.

Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs condemned the fire and confirmed that 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.

“I strongly condemn all acts of terrorism aimed at disrupting lawful and fair elections in Washington State,” Hobbs added. “Despite this incident, I have full confidence in the ability of our county election officials to conduct Washington’s elections safely for all voters.”

The boxes are about 15 miles apart. The one in Vancouver is in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District, which is home to one of the most competitive House races in the country.

The district is represented by Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, one of five Democratic seats in a district that former President Donald Trump won in 2020. She faces a rematch against Republican Joe Kent, a retired Green Beret who had Trump’s support.

Other fires affecting ballots have recently been reported across the country. Last week, a mailbox outside a post office in Phoenix was set on fire, damaging an unknown number of ballots. A 35-year-old man was charged with arson in connection with the incident. Phoenix police said he told them it was not politically motivated.

The fires come after the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security recently issued a bulletin raising concerns that “election-related grievances,” such as beliefs in voter fraud, could motivate domestic extremists to commit violence in the weeks before and after the election in November.

In the intelligence bulletin obtained by CNN, the agencies said some domestic violent extremists likely view publicly accessible locations, including ballot boxes, as “attractive targets.”