Ballot boxes were burned in Washington and Oregon on Monday, possibly damaging hundreds of mail-in votes a week before the election. The Portland Police Bureau responded to a fire in the Buckman neighborhood at 3:30 a.m. The fire had been extinguished by security personnel in the area, and officers found an "incendiary device," characterizing the crime as arson, reports USA Today. The Vancouver Police Department in nearby southern Washington responded to an arson at a ballot box at 4 a.m. They found smoke coming out of the box and a "suspicious object" next to it. The FBI said it was "coordinating with federal, state and local partners to actively investigate the two incidents."
Clark County, Wa., auditor Greg Kimsey said that hundreds of ballots had been destroyed in the Vancouver fire. He said a fire suppression system in the Vancouver ballot box did not work. In Oregon, Multnomah County election official Tim Scott said that only three ballots had been destroyed in the Portland fire and that those voters would be contacted. The burned boxes are located about 15 miles away from each and police officials said that they believe the arsons are connected. The Vancouver ballot box is located in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District, where Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez is attempting to retain her seat, which she won by fewer than 3,000 votes in 2022.
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