Well, it was inevitable. The closer we get to the election the more shenanigans are sure to start happening. Early in the morning on Oct. 28, two ballot boxes were set on fire with some sort of incendiary device. Hundreds of ballots were damaged after the incident.
Portland Police Bureau responses to reports of a fire in Portland around 3:00 A.M., according to a statement by the bureau. Someone put a fire-starting device in the box, and security on site worked to extinguish the fire. Three ballots were damaged in the Portland box because they were protected by a fire suppressant.
The second ballot box fire happened about 15 miles away in Vancouver, Washington. Ballots there were not so lucky – hundreds of ballots were damaged in that fire, per CNN.
What does that mean for voters who placed the ballots in the boxes? The people with the three damaged ballots in the first box will be contacted through “unique identifiers on their ballot envelopes, so they can receive replacement ballots,” per Multnomah County Elections Director Tim Scott.
Scott said voters could rest easy, and that “even if their ballots were in the affected box, their votes will be counted.” Things are a little more complicated in the city of Vancouver.
Spokeswoman Laura Shepard said anyone who place a ballot after 11 a.m. on Oct. 26 should contact the city for ballot status. Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs vehemently spoke out against taking shots at the democratic process in general after the incidents.
“I strongly denounce any acts of terror that aim to disrupt lawful and fair elections in Washington state,” Hobbs said. “Despite this incident, I have complete confidence in our county elections officials’ ability to keep Washington’s elections safe and secure for all voters.”
It’s not known if the two instances are connected, but the Vancouver district is home to one of the most competitive House races in the country, where Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez faces far-right Republican Joe Kent.
Considering the contentiousness of the election between Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, expect more things like this to start happening. In fact, Trump has made it pretty clear that he will not accept a defeat in the election.
At his rallies, he’s been constantly saying that if he loses it will only be because “… they cheat. That’s the only way we’re gonna lose, because they cheat.” Considering millions of people take this man’s words at face value, there are going to be a whole lot of people making this claim should Trump lose the election.
Harris said she’s prepared to act if Trump declares victory early, like he did in 2020. She told NBC News that while she’s ready to win, she’s also ready for Trump to try and steal the whole thing.
“We’ve got two weeks to go, and I’m very much grounded in the present, in terms of the task at hand,” Harris said. “And we will deal with election night and the days after as they come, and we have the resources and the expertise and the focus on that as well.”