Hundreds of ballots were damaged after a Clark County ballot box was found burning in the Fisher’s Landing neighborhood of Vancouver Monday morning. A suspicious device was found next to the box, Vancouver police said.
A similar incident had been reported about an hour earlier across the river in Portland, damaging three ballots. Police say the incidents likely are connected.
Around 4 a.m. Monday, the Vancouver Police Department received a call about the ballot box at 3510 SE 164th Ave. smoking and on fire. The FBI also is investigating the incident, police said.
Ballots suffered both fire and water damage, though the full extent is not yet known. While all Clark County ballot boxes were freshly equipped this year with fire suppression devices, it did not prevent the damage in this incident, Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey told Cascade PBS. Some ballots were able to be processed and counted, he said.
Elections officials in Clark County are drying the ballots for a more accurate assessment of the damage, and will contact affected voters, Kimsey said. He said the county will also mail replacement ballots to those affected, with an explanation of what happened. Kimsey also encouraged voters who deposited their ballots at that drop box after 11 a.m. Saturday to contact the county to get a new ballot. Voters can also check their ballot status at voter.votewa.gov.
Kimsey said Clark County elections will also collect ballots from its 23 drop boxes by 5:30 p.m. between now and the election, and encouraged voters to get their ballots in before the boxes are emptied. Law enforcement will also step up patrols near the drop boxes, Kimsey said.
It is the second time in a month that a Clark County ballot box was targeted with a suspicious device. The earlier incident took place Oct. 8, before general election ballots had been sent to voters.
Vancouver is the largest city in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District, which has a closely contested race between U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA3) and Republican challenger Joe Kent.