Police Say Firebombings of Ballot Boxes in Oregon and Washington Are Linked

As we move into the final week of what has been one of the most unhinged and violent presidential elections in modern political history, a string of arsons at early voting locations throughout the Pacific Northwest has local and federal cops scrambling to find a culprit. It’s arguably yet another side-effect of what election security experts have been calling a heightened “threat environment”—a fancy term that seems to be shorthand for: Americans are losing their goddamn minds and it’s getting pretty hairy out there.

On Monday morning, somebody drove up to a ballot dropbox in Portland, Oregon, and affixed an “incendiary device” to its side. Then they drove off. Not long afterward, around 3:30 AM, Portland police responded to reports of a fire in the vicinity and found the dropbox ablaze. Less than an hour later, a similar incident occurred in the nearby city of Vancouver, Washington, where police found another dropbox on fire. Again, a “suspicious device” was found lying on the ground next to it.

Police also suspect the incidents are connected to yet another arson, which took place in Vancouver nearly three weeks ago on October 8. In that case, police were once again called to extinguish a fire at a ballot dropbox. A nearby homeless shelter had to be evacuated out of safety concerns.

Local outlet KGW reports that authorities believe that the fires in Vancouver had destroyed “hundreds” of ballots. The fire in Portland only destroyed three. Local outlet KGW reports that the FBI is now working together with local police to investigate the three incidents.

“We don’t know the motive behind these acts,” Portland Police Bureau Assistant Chief Amanda McMillan said, in a press release. “We do know acts like this are targeted and they’re intentional and we’re concerned about that intentional act trying to impact the election process. We’re dedicated to stopping this kind of behavior.”

“We take the safety of our election workers seriously and will not tolerate threats or acts of violence that seek to undermine the democratic process,” said Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs, in another press release. “I strongly denounce any acts of terror that aim to disrupt lawful and fair elections in Washington state. Despite this incident, I have complete confidence in our county elections official’s ability to keep Washington’s elections safe and secure for all voters.”

One bit of good news is that police seem to have captured a glimpse of the vehicle they believe was involved in the acts of arson. A still from security footage of the “suspect vehicle” was released to the public Monday. The car is described as being a “black or dark-colored 2001-2004 Volvo S-60.” Police said the vehicle does not appear to have a front license plate, but it does have a back plate that authorities haven’t been able to decipher.

Authorities in Vancouver have encouraged anyone who thinks their ballot may have been destroyed in Monday’s fire to contact the city’s elections division (if that happens to be you, you can call 564-397-2345 or email [email protected]). Those Portlanders who are concerned they may have been impacted can call 503-988-6826. Even more handily, many governments allow voters to see if their vote has been received by their local government. In Washington’s case, voters can visit votewa.gov to track its return status. KGW reports: “If a returned ballot is not marked as ‘received,’ voters can print a replacement ballot or visit the elections department, located at 1408 Franklin Street in downtown Vancouver, for a replacement ballot, the secretary of state’s office.”