Ballot box fires in Oregon, Washington linked, police identify ‘suspicious vehicle’: ‘Attack on democracy’

Authorities in Oregon and Washington have identified a “suspicious vehicle” they say is connected incendiary devices that caused fires in the ballot boxes in both states.

The Portland Police Bureau (PPB) has released two photos of a black or dark-colored Volvo S-60 that they believe are related to ballot box arsons. The vehicle does not have a front license plate but has an unknown rear license plate, police added.

Three ballots were destroyed in a fire at a ballot box in Portland, Oregon, on Monday morning. Hours later, hundreds of ballots were destroyed in a fire at a drop box in nearby Vancouver, Washington.

Both ballot boxes were equipped with fire suppression systems, but the system inside the Vancouver ballot box failed, resulting in the destruction of new ballots.

An “incendiary device” caused a fire in a ballot box in Portland, Oregon

Police said incendiary devices were placed on the outside of the boxes.

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During a press conference on Monday, authorities said they succeeded to obtain enough material from the devices to show that the two fires were related. They also said the incidents were related to an incident on Oct. 8 in which an incendiary device was placed in another trash can in Vancouver.

“We don’t know the motive behind these actions,” said PPB Assistant Chair Amanda McMillan. “We know that these actions are targeted and they are intentional, and we are concerned that these intentional actions are trying to influence the election process. We want to stop this behavior.”

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Greg Kimsey, the longtime elected auditor of Clark County, Washington, which includes Vancouver, urged voters who dropped their ballots in a transit box after 11 a.m. Saturday to contact his office to get a new ballot.

“It’s heartbreaking,” Kimsey said. “This is a direct attack on democracy.”

Kimsey said police will increase patrols around polling places and Clark County Elections officials will monitor ballot boxes 24 hours a day, seven days a week until the election closes.

He said staff would not confront anyone, but would instead contact the police if they saw anything suspicious.

Vancouver is the largest city in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District, the site of what is expected to be one of the closest US House races between first-term Democratic candidates. Marie Glusenkamp Peres and Republican challenger Joe Kent.

The Portland FBI also released a statement regarding the arson and said they are actively investigating both situations.

“The FBI is coordinating with federal, state and local partners to actively investigate two incidents in Vancouver, Washington, and Portland, Oregon, that occurred early Monday morning, October 28, to determine who is responsible,” the statement said. .

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The FBI encourages anyone with information to contact their nearest FBI office, submit information at tips.fbi.gov or call 1-800-225-5324.

These latest incidents come just days after approximately 20 mail-in ballots were damaged in a fire at a U.S. Postal Service mailbox in Phoenix.

The suspect in the Arizona arson case, 35-year-old Dieter Kloffkorn, was arrested on one count of arson.

Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source of the original article: Ballot box fires in Oregon, Washington linked, police identify ‘suspicious vehicle’: ‘Attack on democracy’