Taylor Balkom/The Columbian
A Vancouver police cruiser sits in a parking lot Tuesday near the Fisher’s Landing Transit Center ballot box following an attack on the box that destroyed hundreds of ballots Monday morning.Photo Gallery
Ballot boxes in Clark County will be staffed with Clark County Elections Office observers 24/7 after arsons on ballot boxes in east Vancouver and Portland early Monday drew national attention.
Ballot box observers are instructed not to confront anyone or interfere with anyone depositing a ballot, according to Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey. If they observe suspicious behavior, they will call 911.
“They are there simply to observe,” Kimsey said.
The FBI is investigating the attacks on the Fisher’s Landing Transit Center and Portland drop boxes. A suspect caught on surveillance camera used incendiary devices to damage the ballot boxes.
In Vancouver, hundreds of ballots were destroyed when the drop box fire suppression system didn’t activate. Only three ballots in Portland were destroyed, because of the fire suppression system. The same suspect is believed to be connected to Monday’s attacks and an Oct. 8 attempt on another ballot box in Vancouver.
Kimsey condemned Monday’s attacks.
“This action is an attack on American democracy,” he said in a statement.
Elections officials have gathered the ballots from the east Vancouver box, 3510 S.E. 164th Ave., and processed those that could go through the sorting machine, Kimsey said.
Ballot box observers will sit in vehicles some distance away from each of Clark County’s 22 ballot drop boxes, he said. The Clark County Elections Office will provide observers with identification confirming their role, Kimsey said Tuesday.
This is the first time Clark County has staffed ballot boxes 24/7, as far as the longtime elections official knew.
In addition, the Clark County Sheriff’s Office and Vancouver Police Department will increase patrols around ballot drop box locations.
“We’re not going to have uniformed officers at ballot boxes, but they’ll be driving by more frequently than they normally would,” Kimsey said.
However, a Vancouver police officer was stationed near the recently replaced Fisher’s Landing Transit Center ballot box Tuesday morning.
Multnomah County, Ore., will not have people staffed 24/7 at ballot boxes like Clark County, despite the attack on the Portland ballot box. But it has increased private security and law enforcement patrol of ballot boxes, according to Multnomah County Elections Director Tim Scott.
Voters’ concerns
Observers and increased patrols did not ease the minds of many walking into the Clark County Elections Office in downtown Vancouver on Tuesday morning. A steady stream of people with ballots in hand flowed in and out of the office’s doors at 1408 Franklin St. — despite a ballot box just across the street.
Dani Steinbach of Vancouver drove 20 minutes with her young daughter to drop off her family’s ballots at the elections office. She was originally going to drop them off in her local ballot box, but Monday’s attacks concerned her.
“It’s childish,” she said. “Hopefully, it doesn’t change how the vote goes.”
She wishes ballot box observers were standing next to the ballot boxes rather than discreetly watching from cars, she said. She doesn’t think it will sway possible future attacks if people don’t realize someone is watching.
Steven Dost, a Vancouver resident also dropping off his ballot Tuesday, said the observers eased his mind after the attacks. He would have been fine dropping off his ballot in one of the boxes, but he had other business at the office anyway.
Vancouver resident Julanta Stehn is an immigrant from Poland who recently became a citizen. Accompanied by her young son and husband, she dropped off her ballot at the elections office because she wanted to make sure her first time voting counted.
“She knows more than most that this election matters to the whole world,” husband Jonathan Stehn said.
Ballot harvesting
Planned before the ballot boxes were destroyed, Patriots United WA is hosting a ballot harvesting event, where the group says certified election observers will collect ballots and turn them in.
“We strongly encourage voters to only give their ballot to someone they know and trust,” Kimsey said of these types of events.
Kimsey encouraged people to vote early and check the status of their ballot at votewa.gov.
Recently released photos from the Clark County Election’s Office show the magnitude of the Monday morning attack on an east Vancouver ballot box. Hundreds of…
Ballot boxes in Clark County will be staffed with Clark County Elections Office observers 24/7 after arsons on ballot boxes in east Vancouver and Portland…
Hundreds of ballots were damaged or destroyed in arson attacks on ballot drop boxes in east Vancouver and Portland early Monday morning.
Anyone who deposited a ballot in the Fisher’s Landing Transit Center drop box between 11 a.m. Saturday and Monday morning can contact the elections office if they need a replacement ballot at clark.wa.gov/elections.need-replacement-ballot, 564-397-2345 or elections@clark.wa.gov. They can also visit the downtown elections office.
