Ballot drop boxes set afire in Oregon, Washington, hundreds of ballots destroyed

Ballot drop boxes in both Portland, Ore., and Vancouver, Wash., were set on fire early Monday morning, destroying hundreds of ballots.

In Washington, a fire occurred around 5:30 a.m. at a ballot drop box in Vancouver.

“It appears that a device was attached to the outside of the ballot drop box that resulted in the ballots being ignited,” Clark County auditor Greg Kimsey said.

“We don’t have the exact number, but it was hundreds,” Kimsey said regarding the number of ballots destroyed.

Kimsey urged voters who may have dropped off their ballots after 11 a.m. Saturday at the ballot drop box that was set on fire to check their ballot's status at votewa.gov.

“Contact us at 564-397-2345 or email elections@clark.wa.gov,” Kimsey said. “They can get a replacement ballot.”

He added that the county will retrieve ballots from the drop boxes more frequently and election officials hope the fire was an isolated incident.

Police responded to reports about a fire at a ballot drop box in Portland around 3:30 a.m. Monday morning, which was started by an incendiary device, The Oregonian reported. The fire had been put out by security guards in the area by the time police arrived.

There were no injuries and police have not said whether ballots were destroyed in that incident.