Unknown people have set fire to mailboxes in the US states of Oregon and Washington, causing hundreds of election ballots to burn in Washington.
In the city of Portland on Monday, unknown assailants planted an “incendiary device” in a ballot box meant for voting in the upcoming US presidential election.
Rescuers managed to extinguish the blaze and are now counting how many ballots were lost in the ballot box, located in a car park near the Fishers Landing transit centre in Vancouver, across the Columbia River from Portland, Oregon. Clark County auditor Greg Kimsey told Oregon Live:
“It appears that a device was attached to the outside of the ballot drop box that resulted in the ballots being ignited. We don’t have the exact number [of ballots], but it was hundreds.”
Across the river, the Portland Police Department responded to a fire in a ballot box around 3:30 a.m. Monday. The Portland Police Bureau explained in a statement:
“By the time officers arrived, the fire had already been extinguished by security personnel who work in the area. Officers determined an incendiary device was placed inside the ballot box and used to ignite the fire.”
Investigators attached to the Portland Fire Department, who have specialised skills in investigating fire cases, as well as relevant equipment and even specially trained dogs that can smell traces of incendiary substances, also arrived at the scene.
Shortly before that, US President Joe Biden cast an early vote in the elections of the head of state in the state of Delaware. The Laboratory of Electoral Processes at the University of Florida reported that 43 million Americans had already voted in the election.
A few days ago, 35-year-old Dieter Klofkorn was arrested for setting fire to a mailbox, causing about 20 ballots to be damaged. The perpetrator himself stated that he did not do it out of political motives, but “just to get arrested.”
