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Police fear new attacks at the polls

Pabio October 31, 2024

PORTLAND, Ore. — The man suspected of setting fire to ballot drop boxes in Oregon and Washington is an experienced metalworker and may be planning more attacks, authorities said Wednesday.

Investigators believe the man who placed the incendiary devices in ballot boxes in Portland, Oregon, and nearby Vancouver, Washington, had “rich experience” in making and welding the metals, Portland Police Bureau spokesman Mike Benner said.

The way the devices were built and the way they were attached to the metal drop boxes showed that expertise, Benner said.

Authorities described the suspect as a white man, 30 to 40 years old, with bald or very short hair.

Police previously said surveillance video showed the man driving a black or dark-colored Volvo S-60 from 2001 to 2004. The vehicle did not have a front license plate, but he had a backplate with unknown letters or numbers.

The incendiary devices were marked with the message “Liberate Gaza,” according to a law enforcement official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss an investigation in course.

A third device placed in another drop box in Vancouver earlier this month also bore the words “Free Palestine” in addition to “Free Gaza,” the official said.

Investigators are trying to identify the person responsible and the motive behind the suspected arson attacks, which destroyed or damaged hundreds of ballots in the Vancouver ballot box on Monday when the box’s fire suppression system failed. did not work as expected. Authorities are trying to determine whether the suspect actually held pro-Palestinian views or whether he used the message to try to sow confusion, according to the official.

Surveillance footage captured a Volvo stopping at a drop box in Portland just before nearby security personnel discovered a fire inside the box on Monday, according to Benner. The early morning fire was quickly extinguished thanks to the box’s suppression system and a nearby security guard, police said. Only three ballots inside were damaged.

The ballot box that burned in Vancouver was also equipped with a fire suppression system, but it failed to prevent hundreds of ballots from being burned, said auditor Greg Kimsey longtime elected official in Clark County, Washington, which includes Vancouver. Kimsey said Tuesday that the exact number of ballots destroyed was not known and that about 475 damaged ballots were recovered from the box.

Election workers planned Wednesday to sort through damaged ballots to get information about who cast them, in hopes that those voters can receive replacement ballots. Kimsey urged voters who placed their ballots in the transit center box between 11 a.m. Saturday and Monday morning to contact his office to obtain a replacement ballot.

Portland authorities said Monday that enough material from the incendiary devices had been recovered to show the two fires were linked — and that they were linked to an Oct. 8 incendiary device at another ballot box in Vancouver. No ballots were damaged in this incident.

Washington voters are encouraged to check the status of their ballots at www.votewa.gov to track their return status. If a returned ballot is not marked as “received,” voters can print a replacement ballot or visit the local elections department to obtain a replacement, the secretary of state’s office said.

Information in this article was provided by Gene Johnson of The Associated Press.

In this image provided by the Clark County Auditor’s Office, ballots damaged in an arson attack at a drop box in Vancouver, Wash., are spread out on tables Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (Greg Kimsey/Clark County Auditor’s Office via AP)

Police tape surrounds a fire-damaged ballot box Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, in Vancouver, Wash. (Monika Spykerman/The Columbian via AP)

A voter places a ballot for the 2024 election into a newly installed drop box at the Multnomah County Division of Elections office Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, in Portland, Ore., after the drop box leaks has been damaged. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

A damaged trash can that was inside a ballot box is on display at the Multnomah County Elections Office Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

A damaged ballot box is displayed during a news conference at the Multnomah County Election Division office, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

Election workers collect ballots from a newly placed drop box outside the Multnomah County Division of Elections office, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)