Ballot boxes set on fire in Oregon, Washington linked; Hundreds of ballots burned

PORTLAND, Ore., - Police in Oregon and Washington are investigating ballot boxes that were set on fire. 

The Portland Police Bureau said on Monday morning, officers responded to reports of a fire at a ballot box located on the 1000 block of Southeast Morrison Street.

Security guards had extinguished the fire by the time officers had arrived.

Authorities said an incendiary device was placed inside the ballot box before the fire ignited. The police's Explosive Disposal Unit came onto the scene and cleared the device.

The fire damaged three ballots inside.

Police in Vancouver, Washington, are also investigating a ballot box that was set on fire Monday morning. The fire destroyed hundreds of ballots. The devices were attached to the outside of the boxes, police said.

The fire was set at the C-TRAN Park & Ride at Fisher’s Landing Transit Center.

Authorities said at a news conference in Portland that enough material from the incendiary devices was recovered to show that the two fires Monday were connected — and that they were also connected to an Oct. 8 incident, when an incendiary device was placed at a different ballot drop box in Vancouver.

 Police said Monday that a "suspect vehicle" has been identified in connection with crimes in Oregon and Washington. Surveillance images captured a Volvo stopping at a drop box in Portland, Oregon, just before security personnel nearby discovered a fire inside the box on Monday, Portland Police Bureau spokesman Mike Benner told a news conference.

"Heartbreaking," said Greg Kimsey, the longtime elected auditor in Clark County, Washington, which includes Vancouver. "It’s a direct attack on democracy."

The ballot drop boxes in Washington and Oregon both have fire suppression systems that are designed to activate when the temperature inside reaches a certain point, coating ballots inside with a fire-suppressing powder.

The system appeared to have worked in the Portland drop box, and security staffers were nearby to help put out the fire. Multnomah County Elections Director Tim Scott said the county has contracted with private security officers to have "roving patrols" that drive around the county 24 hours a day and "put eyes" on all drop boxes.

He said one of the guards was at the county elections office, heard what sounded like a blast — likely the activation of the fire suppression system — and called police.

For unknown reasons, the system failed to prevent the destruction of hundreds of ballots in Vancouver, just across the Columbia River from Portland.

The fires came after a similar instance in Arizona last week. 

According to FOX 10 Phoenix, an arrest was made after a United States Postal Service mailbox in Phoenix was lit on fire last Thursday, damaging over a dozen ballots.

RELATED: Ballots damaged after USPS mailbox lit on fire in Phoenix; suspect arrested

The fire happened just before 1:30 a.m. on October 24 outside a post office near 7th Avenue and Indian School Road. 

Phoenix Fire crews responded to the scene and extinguished the flames. Twenty electoral ballots, and other pieces of mail, were damaged in the fire.

"The Postal Inspector took possession of the damaged ballots and mail," Phoenix Fire Capt. Rob McDade said. "The Phoenix Fire Investigations Task Force, which includes Phoenix Police detectives and Phoenix Fire investigators, are working with US Postal Inspectors."

In a statement, the FBI said it is coordinating with federal, state and local partners to actively investigate the two incidents. Anyone with information is asked to contact the nearest FBI office, provide information through tips.fbi.gov or call 1-800-CALL-FBI ( 800-225-5324 ).

Voters were encouraged to check their ballot status online at www.votewa.gov to track its return status. If a returned ballot is not marked as "received," voters can print a replacement ballot or visit their local elections department for a replacement, the Secretary of State’s office said.