Ballot boxes in Oregon and Washington were set on fire early Monday, destroying hundreds of ballots.

Authorities, including the FBI, are investigating incidents in Portland, Oregon, and nearby Vancouver, Washington.

It’s unclear if the incidents are related.

“The Clark County Elections ballot drop box at the Fisher’s Landing Transit Center was lit on fire this morning. Clark Co. Auditor Greg Kimsey says hundreds of ballots were inside at the time, the last pickup being 11AM Saturday,” KATU photographer Evan Bell wrote.

WATCH:

KATU reports:

A Vancouver ballot box was burned in an arson Monday morning, authorities report – with hundreds of ballots possibly damaged in the fire.

KATU was on the scene at Fisher’s Landing Transit Center in Vancouver shortly after 4 a.m., where heavy smoke was seen coming from inside a drop-off ballot box.

Our photographer Evan Bell captured grey smoke steadily billowing out of the Park and Ride ballot box at Fisher’s Landing Transit Center near Southeast 162nd Avenue.

Multiple police units were in the area, and the ballot box was cordoned off by police tape as it continued to smoke.

Around 6 a.m., KATU captured footage of first responders releasing a pile of actively burning ballots onto the ground, which continued to smolder and smoke heavily even after the flames were put out.

“Ballot drop boxes with completed votes have just been set on fire in Vancouver, WA and Portland, OR. Expect more wild stuff this week. Stay vigilant,” Charlie Kirk commented.

“In the first reported incident, a ballot box in Portland, Oregon, was set on fire with an incendiary device, police said,” ABC News noted.

WATCH:

Per ABC News:

Portland police responded to reports of a fire at a ballot box around 3:30 a.m. local time on Monday. Security at the Multnomah County Elections Division responded and extinguished the fire, officials said.

“Officers determined an incendiary device was placed inside the ballot box and used to ignite the fire,” the Portland Police Bureau said in a statement.

The bureau’s explosive disposal unit cleared the device, police said.

Fire suppressant prevented further damage and protected “virtually all the ballots,” though three were damaged, the Multnomah County Elections Division said in a press release.

Elections officials will contact the three impacted voters so they can receive replacement ballots, the division said.

“We have multiple systems and security measures in place to ensure your ballot is safe,” Multnomah County Elections Director Tim Scott said in a statement.

No other ballot boxes or official drop sites in Multnomah County were affected, the division said.

 

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