Police say fires set at ballot boxes in Oregon and Washington are connected; 'suspect vehicle' ID'd

Source: AP

Updated 4:20 PM EDT, October 28, 2024


PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Police said Monday that a “suspect vehicle” has been identified in connection with incendiary devices that set fires to ballot drop boxes in Oregon and Washington state.

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. That fire damaged three ballots inside, while officials say a fire at a drop box in nearby Vancouver, Washington, early Monday destroyed hundreds of ballots. The devices were attached to the outside of the boxes, police said.

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.

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

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/vote-ballot-drop-box-democracy-fire-f66c52f774955106fb9e7c8172825cff