Ballots Destroyed After Fires In Election Drop Boxes

[Twin Tiers Living 489]

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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Incendiary devices were set off Monday at two ballot drop boxes — one in Portland and another in nearby Vancouver, Washington — destroying hundreds of ballots in what one official called a “direct attack on democracy” about a week before a heated Election Day.

The early morning fire at the drop box in Portland was extinguished quickly thanks to a suppression system inside the box as well as a nearby security guard, police said, and just three ballots were damaged there.

But within a few hours, another fire was discovered at a transit center drop box across the Columbia River in Vancouver. Vancouver is the biggest city in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District, the site of what is expected to be one of the closest U.S. House races in the country, between first-term Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and Republican challenger Joe Kent.

 

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[Ann 439]

I believe this is a great example of why ballots should only be mailed, dropped off at the local Board of Elections or you vote in person.  

[MsKreed 1,571]

1 hour ago, Ann said:

I believe this is a great example of why ballots should only be mailed, dropped off at the local Board of Elections or you vote in person.  

I agree!

I fully support mail-in absentee and early voting options that accommodate voters' schedules. But there needs to be some semblance of order and control that cleraly isn't possible with unmonitored, unattended drop boxes.

[MsKreed 1,571]

 

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The way the devices were constructed and the way they were attached to the metal drop boxes showed that expertise, Benner said.

Authorities described the suspect as a white man, age 30 to 40, who is balding or has very short hair.

Police previously said surveillance video showed the man driving a black or dark-colored 2001 to 2004 Volvo S-60. The vehicle did not have a front license plate, but it did have a rear plate with unknown letters or numbers.

The incendiary devices were marked with the message “Free Gaza,” according to a law enforcement official who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation

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