Ballot drop boxes in Vancouver and Portland targeted by arson; hundreds of ballots damagedFree

The Clark County Sheriff’s Office and Vancouver Police Department will increase patrols around ballot boxes as calls for service allow, according to a Monday evening update to the news release. In addition, Clark County Elections Office employees will serve as observers 24/7 at each of the 22 drop boxes throughout the county, although they will not confront anyone.

Kimsey urges residents to report suspicious activity surrounding ballot boxes. Call 911 for emergencies or 311 for non-emergencies.

By the time the sun rose, the fire was out and a huge scorch mark and a hole graced the front of the ballot drop box at 3510 S.E. 164th Ave., at the Vancouver transit center. The sidewalk below was streaked with ash left behind by burning ballots.

The Clark County Auditor’s Office said hundreds of ballots were in the drop box, which had last been emptied by elections workers at 11 a.m. Saturday.

“We’re going to change our ballot retrieval process, so that ballots are retrieved in the evening, so there are few ballots left in the drop boxes overnight,” Kimsey said Monday morning in response to the arson.

Kimsey told the Associated Press that the ballot box had a fire suppression system, but it didn’t activate. There are surveillance cameras that cover the drop box and surrounding area, he said.

The fires made national news Monday with Kimsey fielding phone calls from dozens of news outlets.

Politicians on both sides of the aisle from all over Washington responded to the attacks.

“The destruction of ballots in any way, shape or form runs totally counter to our fundamental values as Americans,” Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said in a statement. “Whoever is responsible must be held accountable, and I trust law enforcement to do its job here.”

Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs echoed Murray’s sentiment.

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

“Voting is safe and easy, and Washington state is proud to have one of the most secure elections systems in the country,” Washington Democrats Chair Shasti Conrad said in a statement.

Washington Republican Party Chairman Jim Walsh disagreed.

“Washington needs to get back to in-person, same-day voting,” he said. “Our experiment with 100 percent mail-in-voting is not secure, because of the broken chain-of-custody issues inherent in mail-in voting. These arson attacks are proof of that.”

Anyone who dropped a ballot in that box Saturday or Sunday can contact the Clark County Elections Office to request a replacement at clark.wa.gov/elections.need-replacement-ballot. Voters can also call 564-397-2345 or email the elections office at elections@clark.wa.gov.

Ballots can be dropped in designated boxes across the county; at the Clark County Election Office, 1408 Franklin St., in downtown Vancouver; or mailed. No postage is necessary, but ballots must be postmarked by Election Day, Nov. 5.

Track the status of your ballot at voter.votewa.gov.

Members of the Metro Explosive Disposal Unit, the Vancouver Fire Department, detectives from the Vancouver Police arson team and the Vancouver Fire Marshals Office also responded.

Earlier incident in Vancouver

Earlier this month, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives responded to downtown Vancouver after a suspicious device was found near the ballot drop box on Esther Street, according to Vancouver police.

No one was injured, and the ballot drop box was not compromised in the Oct. 8 incident. Because of the device’s proximity to several federal buildings, ATF also responded. The Vancouver drop box is also just blocks from the Clark County Courthouse and elections office, among other local government buildings.

At a press conference Monday in Portland, Interim Vancouver Police Chief Troy Price said the two Vancouver incidents were very similar.

“We’re working with our partners across the river here in Portland and sharing information with our federal law enforcement partners in hopes of bringing this to a successful conclusion,” he said.

Portland ballots

An incendiary device was also used to start a fire near a ballot drop box early Monday morning in Portland, according to Portland police.

Officers were called about 3:30 a.m. to the 1000 block of Southeast Morrison Street for reports of a fire in a ballot box, according to a statement. The ballot box is in the same block as the Multnomah County Elections Division building.

Security in the area put out the fire before police arrived.

The bomb squad responded and cleared the device.

Multnomah County Elections Director Tim Scott told the Associated Press that the fire suppressant inside the drop box protected nearly all the ballots; only three were damaged.

Anyone with information on either fire is asked to contact the nearest FBI office, provide information through tips.fbi.gov or call 800-225-5324.