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Incendiary devices that burned ballot boxes carried ‘Free Gaza’ messages, AP source says

By Alanna Durkin Richer and Associated Press
Published  October 30, 2024 11:32am PDT
Crime and Public Safety
Associated Press

Elections offices increase ballot box pickups after arsons

While investigators search for the person responsible for burning ballot drop boxes in Vancouver and Portland, county auditors are increasing security.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Incendiary devices found at the scene of ballot drop box fires in Portland, Oregon, and nearby Vancouver, Washington, this week were marked with the message "Free Gaza," according to a law enforcement official.

A third device placed at a different drop box in Vancouver earlier this month also carried the words "Free Palestine" in addition to "Free Gaza," said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation.

An arson investigation is underway after multiple ballot boxes were set on fire in cities in Washington and Oregon Sunday night. Hundreds of ballots were burned inside a ballot box in Vancouver, Washington, according to KPTV News. The Portland Police Bureau (PPB), also confirmed an arson investigation is underway after an incendiary device was placed inside a ballot box in East Portland. Ballot box arson in Vancouver, WA According to KPTV, the fire in Vancouver was set at the C-TRAN Park and Ride at Fisher’s Landing Transit Center. Reports indicate someone stuck a device on the outside of the box, which started the fire. The last time ballots were picked up from the box was 11 a.m. on Saturday, so anyone who dropped off a ballot in the box after that time should contact the Clark County Elections Office immediately. Ballot box arson in Portland, OR An arson investigation is also underway in Portland, Oregon after a ballot box on the east side of the city was set on fire early Sunday morning. This ballot box is about 9 miles south of where the ballot box in Vancouver was set on fire. According to the Portland Police Bureau (PPB), at around 3:30 a.m., officers responded to reports of a ballot box on fire near the corner of SE Morrison St. and SE 10th Ave. When they arrived, security personnel working in the area had already extinguished the fire. PPB officers determined that an incendiary device was placed into the ballot box and used to ignite the fire. Anyone with information about the arson case in Portland is asked to contact Portland Police Detective Meredith Hopper at Meredith.hopper@police.portlandoregon.gov, or call the Portland Fire and Rescue Fire Investigation Unit’s tip line at 503-823-3473 and reference case number 24-27-6181. This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Police in Portland are investigating after an incendiary device was placed inside a ballot box in Portland, Oregon overnight. (KPTV)

Investigators are trying to identify the person responsible and the motive for the suspected arson attacks, which destroyed hundreds of ballots at one location in Vancouver on Monday when the drop box’s fire suppression system didn’t work as intended. Authorities are trying to figure out whether the person who left the devices actually had pro-Palestinian views or used the message to try to create confusion, according to the official.

Surveillance images captured a Volvo pulling up to a drop box in Portland just before security personnel nearby discovered a fire inside the box on Monday, according to Portland Police Bureau spokesman Mike Benner.

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. Just three of the ballots inside were damaged.

An arson investigation is underway after multiple ballot boxes were set on fire in cities in Washington and Oregon Sunday night. Hundreds of ballots were burned inside a ballot box in Vancouver, Washington, according to KPTV News. The Portland Police Bureau (PPB), also confirmed an arson investigation is underway after an incendiary device was placed inside a ballot box in East Portland. Ballot box arson in Vancouver, WA According to KPTV, the fire in Vancouver was set at the C-TRAN Park and Ride at Fisher’s Landing Transit Center. Reports indicate someone stuck a device on the outside of the box, which started the fire. The last time ballots were picked up from the box was 11 a.m. on Saturday, so anyone who dropped off a ballot in the box after that time should contact the Clark County Elections Office immediately. Ballot box arson in Portland, OR An arson investigation is also underway in Portland, Oregon after a ballot box on the east side of the city was set on fire early Sunday morning. This ballot box is about 9 miles south of where the ballot box in Vancouver was set on fire. According to the Portland Police Bureau (PPB), at around 3:30 a.m., officers responded to reports of a ballot box on fire near the corner of SE Morrison St. and SE 10th Ave. When they arrived, security personnel working in the area had already extinguished the fire. PPB officers determined that an incendiary device was placed into the ballot box and used to ignite the fire. Anyone with information about the arson case in Portland is asked to contact Portland Police Detective Meredith Hopper at Meredith.hopper@police.portlandoregon.gov, or call the Portland Fire and Rescue Fire Investigation Unit’s tip line at 503-823-3473 and reference case number 24-27-6181. This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Police investigate after an incendiary device was placed inside a ballot box in Vancouver, WA. (KPTV)

The ballot box in Vancouver that burned also had a fire suppression system inside, but it failed to prevent hundreds of ballots from being scorched, said Greg Kimsey, the longtime elected auditor in Clark County, Washington, which includes Vancouver. Kimsey said Tuesday that the exact number of destroyed ballots wasn’t known, and that about 475 damaged ballots had been retrieved from the box.

Election staff on Wednesday planned to sort through the damaged ballots for information about who cast them, in the hopes that those voters can be given replacement ballots. Kimsey urged voters who dropped their ballots in the transit center box between 11 a.m. Saturday and early Monday to contact his office for a replacement ballot.

Authorities said at a news conference in Portland on Monday that enough material from the incendiary devices was recovered to show that the two fires were connected — and that they were connected to an Oct. 8 incendiary device at a different ballot drop box in Vancouver. No ballots were damaged in that incident.

Voters in Washington are encouraged to check the status of their ballots at www.votewa.gov to track their return status. If a returned ballot is not marked as "received," voters can print a replacement ballot or visit their local elections department for a replacement, the secretary of state’s office said.

WA elections officials stepping up ballot box security after arson

Washington officials have called the recent ballot box arson in Clark County a "terrorist attack" and an "attack against democracy."

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The Associated Press contributed to this article.

Crime and Public SafetyNewsElectionPoliticsOregonWashingtonClark County