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Police believe Vancouver, Portland ballot box fires are connected [1]
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Date: 2024-10-28
VANCOUVER, Wash. (KPTV) - Authorities believe the fires at ballot boxes in Vancouver and Portland are connected. On Monday afternoon, they released a photo of a suspect car.
Police released photos of a suspect car allegedly involved in ballot box fires in Vancouver and Portland. (KPTV)
The car was described as a black or dark-colored 2001-2004 Volvo S-60. The car does not have a front license plate, but it does have an unknown rear plate. Investigators believe the car is tied to two similar incidents in the Vancouver, Washington area.
Police believe Vancouver and Portland ballot box fires are connected. (Source: KPTV)
The fire in Vancouver was set at the C-TRAN Park & Ride at Fisher’s Landing Transit Center at around 4 a.m. Monday morning. It was reported that someone stuck a device to the outside of the box which started the fire. Detectives determined the incendiary device that ignited the fire at the Southeast Portland ballot box was attached to the side of the box and not placed in it as originally reported.
Election officials say hundreds of ballots were burned at the Vancouver ballot box..
The last time ballots were picked up from the box was 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26. Anyone who dropped off a ballot in the box after 11 a.m. on Saturday should contact the Clark County Elections Office.
Detectives from the Vancouver Police Arson team and the Vancouver Fire Marshals responded.
SEE ALSO:
An investigation is underway after a suspicious device damaged a ballot box in southeast Portland early Monday morning.
At about 3:30 a.m., Portland police responded to a fire at a ballot box near the Multnomah County Elections Office. By the time officers arrived to the ballot box, police say the fire had been put out by security who work in the area.
This is the ballot box that the Mult Co elections office says was the target of an incendiary device early Monday morning in SE Portland. Thanks to fire protections inside, only three ballots were damaged out of hundreds. @fox12oregon pic.twitter.com/3QpP1pq5ZQ — Karli Olson (@olson_karli) October 28, 2024
Multnomah County says there was fire suppressant inside the ballot box and only three ballots were damaged. Elections officials will be contacting those voters so they can receive replacement ballots.
“We don’t know the motive behind these acts,” PPB Assistant Chief Amanda McMillan said. “We do know acts like this are targeted and their intentional and we’re concerned about that intentional act trying to impact the election process. We’re dedicated to stopping this kind of behavior.”
During a press conference on Monday afternoon, police said they believe the two incidents are connected. They also believe an incident that happened on Oct. 8 in Vancouver is also connected.
The FBI is investigating this incident and the one in Portland:
“The FBI is coordinating with federal, state, and local partners to actively investigate the two incidents in Vancouver, Washington, and Portland, Oregon, in the early morning hours of Monday, October 28th to determine who is responsible.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the nearest FBI office, provide information through tips.fbi.gov or call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324).”
Copyright 2024 KPTV-KPDX. All rights reserved.
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[1] Url:
https://www.kptv.com/2024/10/28/ballot-box-set-fire-vancouver/
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