Ballot drop box fires under investigation in Oregon, Washington

By Nicole Chavez, CNN

(CNN) — Federal authorities are investigating fires at two ballot boxes reported Monday morning in the Portland, Oregon, area, as well as another fire reported earlier this month.

Material from the incendiary devices show the fires are connected, and authorities have identified a “suspect vehicle” that was seen leaving the scene of the first fire, said Mike Benner, a spokesperson for Portland Police Bureau.

Authorities in Portland said they have identified a “suspect vehicle” tied to a pair of fires in ballot drop boxes in the area and believe the two incidents are connected, he said.

Police have tied the fires in Portland and Vancouver, Washington, to a similar incident last month, Benner added.

Meanwhile, federal officials have joined the investigation with the help of state and local law enforcement agencies, said Steve Bernd, a spokesperson for the FBI’s Seattle office.

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

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

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

An incendiary device was also found at a ballot box in Vancouver, on October 8, Benner said.

Laura Shepard, a spokeswoman for the city of Vancouver, said elections officials are asking anyone who may have placed a ballot in the box after 11 a.m. on Saturday to contact them to check the status of their ballot.

Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs condemned the fire and confirmed 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 denounce any acts of terror that aim to disrupt lawful and fair elections in Washington state,” Hobbs added. “Despite this incident, I have complete confidence in our county elections officials’ ability to keep Washington’s elections safe and secure for all voters.”

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

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

Gluesenkamp Perez said in a statement Monday she is requesting an overnight law enforcement presence at ballot boxes in Clark County through Election Day, saying, “Southwest Washington cannot risk a single vote being lost to arson and political violence.”

Election officials are still counting all the ballots involved in the Vancouver fire, but they believe hundreds of ballots were affected, said Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey.

Officials plan to contact the three affected Portland voters “via unique identifiers on their ballot envelopes, so they can receive replacement ballots.” Voters who dropped their ballots at the box between 3:30 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Monday should reach out to the Multnomah County Elections Division if they have concerns, Scott said.

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

Oregon Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade said the fire was “an attack on our democracy and completely unacceptable. Whatever the motivation behind this incident, there is no justification for any attempt to disenfranchise voters.”

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

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

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

CNN’s Chris Boyette, Ethan Cohen, Sean Lyngaas and Taylor Romine contributed to this report.

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