PORTLAND, Ore. — The FBI held a news conference Thursday on the three ballot drop box fires seen in Oregon and Washington state during the 2024 election that officials decried as an attack on democracy.
On Oct. 28, about a week before Election Day, a ballot box in Portland, Oregon, and one in neighboring Vancouver, Washington state, were set on fire. The drop box fire in Vancouver — which was home to one of the most competitive U.S. House races in the country — damaged hundreds of ballots.
A fire suppression system in the Portland drop box prevented most of the ballots from being scorched. Just three of the ballots inside were damaged.
The ballot box in Vancouver also had a fire suppression system inside, but it failed to prevent hundreds of ballots from being damaged. Elections staff were able to identify nearly 500 damaged ballots retrieved from the box, according to the Clark County auditor’s office.
A previous drop box fire in Vancouver on Oct. 8 didn’t damage any ballots. Vancouver, the biggest city in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District, was the site of a competitive House race between Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, as she sought a second term, and Republican challenger Joe Kent.
Authorities believe a male suspect that may have metalworking and welding experience was behind the three fires. They have described him as a white man, age 30 to 40, who is balding or has very short hair.
The FBI has specifically asked for help identifying the suspect’s car. Surveillance cameras captured images of a dark-colored, early 2003 to 2004 Volvo S-60 sedan, but at the time of the two most recent ballot box fires on Oct. 28 in Portland and Vancouver, it had a fraudulent temporary Washington license plate on the rear and no front plate, the bureau said.
The Oct. 28 incendiary devices were marked with the message “Free Gaza,” according to a law enforcement official who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation. A third device placed at a different drop box in Vancouver on Oct. 8 also carried the words “Free Palestine” in addition to “Free Gaza,” the official said.
Authorities are trying to figure out whether the suspect actually had pro-Palestinian views or used the message to try to create confusion, the official said.
The FBI has offered up to $25,000 as a reward for information about the suspect.