SEATTLE — King County will soon pick up ballots from boxes more frequently after three fires targeted ballot boxes in Washington and Oregon.
A fire caused by an “incendiary device” damaged hundreds of ballots inside a drop box in Vancouver, Wash., early Monday. That same day, a similar fire in Portland damaged three ballots. Earlier in October, police found a similar incendiary device at another Vancouver drop box, but no ballots were inside. Police believe the three fires are connected, and the FBI is investigating.
King County Elections sends teams of two to pick up ballots from boxes daily. Starting Wednesday, they’ll pick up ballots twice a day “just to make sure they’re not hanging out in there for very long,” Chief of Staff Kendall Hodson said. The elections office typically adds additional pickups at some point in the election cycle, but opted to start earlier than planned after the ballot box fires.
Trained elections staff pick up ballots, and they go through a security checklist to make sure nothing has been tampered with.
Other county election offices are also stepping up security measures. Pierce County is emptying every ballot box every 24 hours, an increase from the typical pace at this point in the election cycle, according to spokesperson Derrick Nunnally. Some areas are stepping up police patrolling, and the drop boxes have fire suppression equipment.
Drop boxes in Snohomish County have custom locks, tamper evident seals and fire suppression systems, according to the auditor’s office. Ballots are picked up regularly by teams of at least two employees. Private security also monitors all drop boxes, including overnight.
On Election Day, every King County ballot box will have contracted security as well as elections staff, which is typical for presidential elections, Hodson said. Some particularly busy areas will also have uniformed officers on site to direct traffic.
Ballot security starts with King County’s ballot boxes, which are over 1,000 pounds and constructed with steel, Hodson said. They have multiple locking mechanisms and are bolted into the ground.
“We had one hit by a school bus once and the bus was damaged and the drop box was not,” Hodson said. “They’re super tough.”
The boxes are intentionally designed with thin slots that make it hard to put more than one or two ballots in. Each box also has two fire stops: small canisters with a magnet attached to the inside of the box, designed to extinguish flames if they’re automatically triggered.
“If there’s any fire or flame that triggers it, the same thing that comes out of a fire extinguisher will come out,” Hodson said. “This is increasingly common across Washington, and we’ve had these in place since before the 2016 election.”
Local law enforcement partners are keeping an eye on ballot boxes before the election, Hodson said, and King County Elections is in touch with the FBI and Department of Homeland Security as they monitor for threats. King County hasn’t had any issues with ballot destruction in this election.
If voters see a ballot box that appears to be damaged or tampered with, they can alert King County Elections at 206-296-8683, Hodson said. If they’re worried about their immediate safety, they should call 911 first.
“We encourage folks to vote early and track your ballots,” Hodson said. “Go online and sign up for alerts. That will give voters confidence that their ballot has been received and counted.”
