By Moira Warburton and Andrew Goudsward
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A Washington state ballot box used to collect early votes ahead of the Nov. 5 U.S. election was engulfed in flames on Monday in a suspected arson, which the FBI is now investigating, local police said.
Footage from local news outlet KATU shows smoke pouring out of a Vancouver, Washington, ballot box with multiple ballots appearing to be in flames. The box had not been emptied since 8 a.m. (1200 GMT) on Sunday local time and hundreds of ballots were destroyed, the station said, citing local officials.
The Vancouver Police Department said it responded to an arson attack at 4 a.m. PT (1100 GMT) on Monday and removed a “suspicious device” located next to the ballot box.
The Washington secretary of state’s office urged voters to check the status of their ballots online and to request a replacement if theirs was unaccounted for.
“I strongly denounce any acts of terror that aim to disrupt lawful and fair elections in Washington state,” Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said in a statement. “Despite this incident, I have complete confidence in our county elections officials’ ability to keep Washington’s elections safe and secure for all voters.”
The box was located in the state’s 3rd District, the site of one of the most competitive U.S. House of Representatives races, featuring Democratic Representative Marie Glusenkamp Perez and Republican challenger Joe Kent.
The incident is the latest in a stream of attacks on ballot boxes.
Police in Portland, Oregon, responded to a similar fire started by an incendiary device in a ballot box on Monday morning. Multnomah County’s election director said in a statement that only three ballots were damaged in that fire, due to fire suppressant inside the box, and those voters will be contacted to fill out replacement ballots.
In Phoenix, a man was arrested after a mailbox there was set ablaze on Thursday. About 20 ballots were destroyed, according to local media reports.
(Reporting by Moira Warburton and Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Scott Malone and Bill Berkrot)