A ballot box in southeast Portland and at least one in the Vancouver, Washington, area were set on fire, according to the Portland, Oregon, police department. The incidents come amid heightened safety and security concerns as the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election approaches.
Police have released two photos of the suspect's vehicle that burned ballot boxes for the October 28 US election in Oregon and Washington state.
Election officials say a ballot box in Vancouver was set on fire, burning hundreds of ballots.
Shasti Conrad, chair of the Washington State Democratic Party, told USA Today that the incident was “an attempt to disenfranchise” voters. The Washington State Democratic Party believes that law enforcement and officials will “find those responsible and hold them accountable.”
"We don't know the motive behind these actions, but actions like this are intentional. We are concerned that this is an intentional act to influence the election process," said police officer Amanda McMillan of the Portland Police Bureau.
The City of Vancouver issued a statement confirming that city police responded to a ballot box arson incident that occurred at approximately 4 a.m. local time on October 28. Vancouver police found a suspicious device next to a burning ballot box, and the FBI is investigating.
Portland Police have released images of a suspect vehicle linked to the arson attack on a 2024 ballot box. Detectives have located the incendiary device used in the Portland incident attached to the side of the ballot box, according to Portland police. The fire was extinguished by security personnel before police arrived on the scene.
In the wake of repeated attacks on ballot boxes in the 2024 US presidential election, a spokesperson for the US Department of Homeland Security said: The United States remains in an elevated threat environment and we continue to share information with law enforcement partners on threats posed by domestic violent extremists in the context of the 2024 election.
The Department of Homeland Security has pointed out that the possibility of attacks on ballot boxes was raised in a report released this month, in which the US Department of Homeland Security also warned that election officials and offices could be targeted, with fake bomb threats, false police reports, letters containing white powder... "to sow fear and disrupt campaign and election activities".
