Someone used an incendiary device to set fire to a ballot box in Portland but few ballots were damaged, Portland Police said. (Alex Baumhardt/Oregon Capital Chronicle)
This is a developing story and may be updated.
Someone used an incendiary device early Monday morning to ignite a ballot box outside the Multnomah County Elections office, but most ballots were unscathed, according to the county elections office and the Portland Police Bureau.
Security teams patrol and monitor ballot boxes around the clock, and they extinguished the fire before police arrived at around 3:30 a.m, according to police.
The county elections division said in a press release that fire suppressant inside the box protected nearly all of the ballots. Three were damaged, and the elections office plans to contact those voters so they can receive replacement ballots.
“Voters should be assured that even if their ballots were in the affected box, their votes will be counted,” the release said.
Multnomah County voters can sign up for a ballot-tracking service at http://multnomah.ballottrax.net and receive text, phone or email alerts when their ballots have been mailed, received and accepted.
Across the Columbia River, hundreds of ballots were destroyed Monday morning by suspected arson to a ballot box at the Fisher’s Landing Transit Center in Clark County, Washington. Election officials there said anyone who dropped their ballot off after 11 a.m. Saturday should contact the Clark County elections office for a replacement.
The FBI said in a statement that it is coordinating with federal, state and local partners to actively investigate the incidents in Vancouver and Portland.
Portland Police declined to say whether they believed the two incidents were connected, citing an active investigation.
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