In an alarming act of arson, voting drop boxes in Washington and Oregon were set ablaze just seven days before the elections took place. The unsettling incident occurred as law enforcement agencies were already on high alert, expecting potential violence related to allegations of election fraud, which included the sabotaging of ballot drop boxes.

Two ballot boxes, located in Portland and Vancouver (which is approximately 10 miles from Portland and across the state border), were set on fire in the early hours of Monday. While the majority of the ballots in Portland were saved, it is believed that hundreds might have been lost in the Vancouver mishap.

According to Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey, several hundred ballots could have been affected by the fire in Vancouver. However, the precise number of damaged ballots will not be known until the end of Tuesday. The wet ballots need to dry out first, after which the extent of the damage can be assessed.

In Portland, only three out of hundreds of ballots were damaged, thanks to the quick response of the fire suppression devices installed in the ballot box. These devices immediately put out the fire that was ignited by an incendiary device. However, it was noted by election officials in Washington that the fire suppression devices in the Vancouver box did not function as effectively.

As for the voters whose ballots might have been lost, authorities have reassured that every dispatched and received ballot is tracked. Voters who used the drop box at Vancouver’s Fisher’s Landing C-Tran Transit Center over the weekend are being advised to check the status of their ballot online.

“It’s a deeply disheartening incident,” said Kimsey, referring to it as a direct assault on American democracy. In Portland, authorities were able to identify the voters from the undamaged ballots and have been contacting them directly.

The FBI is currently leading an investigation into the incidents and has identified a suspect vehicle. The FBI, in collaboration with other federal, state, and local partners, is actively probing the incidents to find the culprits.

According to an advisory released by the Department of Homeland Security, some internet users active on platforms frequented by domestic violent extremists have been found promoting violence related to mail-in voting and offering ways to sabotage ballot drop boxes.

In response to these incidents, increased security measures, including 24-hour surveillance and frequent pick-ups of ballots from drop boxes, have been implemented in both Clark County (Washington) and Portland.