The suspect behind ballot drop box fires in Washington and Oregon earlier this week may be planning more attacks and has metalworking experience, officials warned Wednesday—the latest update on the police investigation into the fires that burned more than 400 ballots.
A damaged ballot drop box is displayed during a news conference at the Multnomah County Elections ... [+]
Portland Police Bureau spokesman Mike Benner said in a press conference investigators believe the man who set two ballot boxes—one in Portland, Oregon and one in Vancouver, Washington—on fire using incendiary devices has “a wealth of experience in metal fabrication and welding,” though they did not name the suspect.
Benner also said “investigators believe it is very possible the suspect intends to continue these targeted attacks across the area.”
Benner described the suspect as a white man aged 30-40 who is either balding or had short hair and was driving a dark-colored Volvo S-60 from the early 2000s that was seen near both incidents.
An unnamed law enforcement official told the Associated Press the devices that blew up the two ballot boxes had the message “Free Gaza” on them.
The New York Times, also citing an anonymous law enforcement officer, reported officials are trying to determine if the suspect is a pro-Palestinian activisit or someone attempting to “sow discord.”
The boxes caught fire early Monday morning after the suspect stuck an incendiary device to the outside of them, officials said, adding the incidents were “very similar” to another incident that happened earlier in October.
Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here.
- That’s about how many ballots were destroyed from the ballot box in Vancouver, Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey told CNN. Most ballots in the Portland box survived the fire.
Officials responded to a ballot box in Portland, Oregon, that was on fire around 3:30 a.m. local time Monday, and a ballot box at a park and ride station in Vancouver, Washington, was set on fire around 4 a.m. Officials said the last time ballots had been picked up from the Vancouver box was Saturday at 11 a.m. and encouraged anyone who dropped a ballot off after that time to contact the Clark County Elections Office. The Portland box had “fire suppressant inside the ballot box” that “protected virtually all the ballots,” Multnomah County Elections Director Tim Scott said in a press release Monday, stating only three ballots were damaged. A similar incident, which police believe may be related, took place in Vancouver on Oct. 8, and also saw no ballots damaged. In that instance, police responded and found “a suspicious device” near the box after someone reported seeing smoke.
The Washington Republican Party said in a statement posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, that local Democratic leaders responded to the incident “too late” and did “too little.” The Oregon GOP said the incident was reason to support a return to in-person voting and served as “evidence of a need to restore order on the streets of #Oregon and to prosecute crime, not coddle criminals.”
Though neither Washington nor Oregon are swing states, the Washington area with the burned ballot box has a tight congressional race. It’s a rematch of the 2022 race between Republican candidate Joe Kent and incumbent Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez. As of mid-October, polling showed the two tied with 46% support, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported. In response to the ballot box fire, Gluesenkamp Perez issued a statement saying “there is absolutely zero place in our democracy for political violence or interference against our fellow citizens, election workers, or voting infrastructure.” Kent posted a video on X in which he encouraged people who dropped their ballots in that box to check their ballot status and said he condemned the attacks against the democratic process.