Fires set in drop boxes destroy hundreds of ballots in Washington and damage 3 in Oregon

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Incendiary devices were set off Monday at two ballot drop boxes — one in Portland and another in nearby Vancouver, Washington — destroying hundreds of ballots in what one official called a “direct attack on democracy” about a week before a heated Election Day.

The early morning fire at the drop box in Portland was extinguished quickly thanks to a suppression system inside the box as well as a nearby security guard, police said, and just three ballots were damaged there.

But within a few hours, another fire was discovered at a transit center drop box across the Columbia River in Vancouver. Vancouver is the biggest city in Washington's 3rd Congressional District, the site of what is expected to be one of the closest U.S. House races in the country, between first-term Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and Republican challenger Joe Kent.

The ballot box in Vancouver also had a fire suppression system inside, but that failed to prevent hundreds of ballots from burning, said Greg Kimsey, the longtime elected auditor in Clark County, Washington, which includes Vancouver. He urged voters who dropped their ballots in the transit center box after 11 a.m. Saturday to contact his office for a replacement ballot.

“Heartbreaking,” Kimsey said. “It’s a direct attack on democracy.”

The office will be increasing how frequently it collects ballots and changing collection times to the evening, Kimsey said, to keep the ballot boxes from remaining full of ballots overnight when similar crimes are considered more likely to occur.

The county also decided late Monday to hire workers through a staffing agency to monitor all of its drop boxes 24 hours a day until the election is over, Kimsey said. The workers will have instructions to simply observe the ballot boxes and not confront anyone. Instead, they will call 911 if they see anything suspicious, he said.

Ballot drop boxes have faced increasing criticism from Republicans and have been the focus of baseless right-wing conspiracy theories in recent years, tied to former President Donald Trump's lie that the 2020 election was stolen from him. An Associated Press survey of state election officials across the U.S. found that there were no widespread issues with drop boxes in 2020, and none that could have affected the results.

Six states have banned ballot drop boxes since 2020: Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina and South Dakota, according to research by the Voting Rights Lab, which advocates for expanded voting access. Other states have restricted their use, including Ohio and Iowa, which now permits only one drop box per county, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.

Washington and Oregon, which are both vote-by-mail states, have long used ballot drop boxes.

Authorities said at a news conference in Portland that enough material from the incendiary devices was recovered to show that the two fires Monday were connected — and that they were also connected to an Oct. 8 incident, when an incendiary device was placed at a different ballot drop box in Vancouver. No ballots were damaged in that incident.

Surveillance images captured a Volvo pulling up to a drop box in Portland, Oregon, just before security personnel nearby discovered a fire inside the box on Monday, Portland Police Bureau spokesman Mike Benner told a news conference. The incendiary devices were attached to the outside of the boxes.

The FBI was also investigating.

The fire suppression systems inside the ballot drop boxes in Washington and Oregon were designed to activate when the temperature inside reaches a certain point, coating ballots with a fire-suppressing powder.

The system appeared to have worked in the Portland drop box, and security staffers were nearby to help put out the fire. Multnomah County Elections Director Tim Scott said the county has contracted with private security officers to have “roving patrols” that drive around the county 24 hours a day and “put eyes” on all drop boxes.

He said one of the guards was at the county elections office, heard what sounded like a blast — likely the activation of the fire suppression system — and called police.

For unknown reasons, the system failed to prevent the destruction of hundreds of ballots in Vancouver.

Gluesenkamp Perez said in a statement that she is requesting an overnight law enforcement presence posted at all ballot drop boxes in Clark County through Election Day.

“Southwest Washington cannot risk a single vote being lost to arson and political violence,” her statement said.

In a video posted on the social platform X, Kent also condemned the “cowardly act of terrorism.” He said he trusted law enforcement to find out who was responsible, urged voters to make sure their ballots are counted and said he continues to have faith in the ballot drop box system in Washington.

“No one should be intimidated,” Kent said.

Voters were encouraged to check their ballot status online at www.votewa.gov to track its return status. If a returned ballot is not marked as "received," voters can print a replacement ballot or visit their local elections department for a replacement, the Secretary of State's office said.

John Burnside, 68, said he and his wife dropped off their ballots at the Vancouver box Sunday afternoon and learned about the fire the next morning on the news. He checked the status of their ballots, did not see that they had been received by elections officials, and requested new ones.

They now plan to either mail their ballots or deliver them in person, he said.

“I’m certainly in favor of in-person voting simply because you know your ballot goes through right then,” he said. “It may be extra work but it does add a level of security.”

Officials in Portland were able to identify the three voters whose ballots were damaged and planned to contact them and provide replacement ballots. The Multnomah County sheriff's office said it would be increasing uniformed and plainclothes patrols around the drop boxes.

Monday afternoon, voters dropped off their ballots at the new drop box that replaced the one that had been set on fire in Portland. Pam Parnell said the incident shocked her.

“It just seems so wrong,” said Parnell, who was dropping off her ballot. “We’ve worked for over 200 years to have a country and have voting.”

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said in a statement: “Voter intimidation or any criminal act to undermine the upcoming election is un-American and will not be tolerated."

Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said the state would not tolerate threats or acts of violence meant to derail voting.

“I strongly denounce any acts of terror that aim to disrupt lawful and fair elections in Washington state,” he said.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said state and local elections officials were fully dedicated to ensuring every vote is counted accurately.

“This was a violent attack on democracy, and we will do everything to keep our election system strong and secure in Washington,” Inslee said in a statement. “There will be 24-hour enhanced security around ballot drop-off locations.”

In Phoenix last week, officials said roughly five ballots were destroyed and others damaged when a fire was set in a drop box at a U.S. Postal Service station there.

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Christina A. Cassidy in Atlanta and Jennifer Sinco Kelleher in Honolulu contributed. Johnson reported from Seattle.