Hundreds of ballots may have been burned after Vancouver polling station arson: FBI investigation

VANCOUVER, Wash. A ballot box was set on fire in an arson attack in Vancouver on Monday morning, authorities said – with hundreds of ballots possibly damaged by the fire.

KATU responded to the Fisher’s Landing Transit Center in Vancouver shortly after 4 a.m., where heavy smoke was coming from a ballot box.

Our photographer Evan Bell captured the gray smoke steadily pouring out of the Park and Ride ballot box at the Fisher’s Landing Transit Center near Southeast 162nd Avenue just after 6 a.m.

There were several police units in the area and the ballot box was cordoned off with police tape because it continued to smoke.

Around 6:30 a.m., KATU captured footage of first responders dropping a pile of actively burning ballots to the ground, which continued to smolder and smoke heavily even after the flames were extinguished.

The Clark County Election Auditor told us the last round of voting at that location was at 8 a.m. Sunday. There were hundreds of ballots inside at the time of the fire, and KATU was told only a few might be salvageable.

Voters who dropped off their ballots at that location after 11 a.m. Saturday should contact the elections auditor IMMEDIATELY for a new ballot.

A link to the Clark County Elections page, with contact information for the auditor’s office, can be found HERE.

Vancouver police released the following statement at 9 a.m.:

This morning around 4 a.m., Vancouver Police responded to an arson at a ballot box at 3510 SE 164th Ave. It was reported that the ballot box was smoking and on fire. Officers arrived on scene and found a suspicious device next to the box. The ballot box was smoking and on fire. Members of the Metro Explosive Disposal Unit (MEDU) arrived and safely retrieved the device, and the fire was extinguished. Detectives from the Vancouver Police Arson Team and Vancouver Fire Marshals also responded.

The FBI continues to investigate this incident.

Just a few hours earlier, Portland police had responded to an arson at a ballot box in SE Portland.

READ MORE:An incendiary device exploded in the SE Portland ballot box, causing a fire

Investigators say an incendiary device detonated inside the coffin, causing a fire.

The fire has been extinguished and the device has been evacuated. The PPB is investigating the incident. The status of the ballots in the burned box has not been provided.

Editor’s note: The Clark County Auditor’s Office originally told KATU that the last round of voting had been at 8 a.m. Sunday. They later corrected this to Saturday 11am.