Report: Ballot box fires in Portland and Vancouver featured "Free Gaza" and "Free Palestine" messages on devices.

Law enforcement believes all three drop box attacks are connected.

Report: Ballot box fires in Portland and Vancouver featured "Free Gaza" and "Free Palestine" messages on devices.
Report: Ballot box fires in Portland and Vancouver featured "Free Gaza" and "Free Palestine" messages on devices.

This month, ballot boxes in Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington were reportedly found with incendiary devices containing messages supporting Gaza and Palestine.

On Oct. 8 in Vancouver, a device containing the phrases "Free Palestine" and "Free Gaza" was placed in a drop box.

On Monday, two ballot boxes were set on fire in Portland and Vancouver with incendiary devices bearing the message "Free Gaza."

Image of suspected ballot box arsonist vehicle
The Portland Police Bureau released images of the suspect vehicle that is believed to be connected to ballot box fires in Portland and Vancouver. (Portland Police Bureau)

FBI Portland has said it is actively investigating both situations.

Police said the incendiary devices were placed on the outside of the boxes.

The man suspected of setting the drop boxes on fire is an experienced metalworker and may be planning additional attacks, according to authorities.

A balding man aged 30 to 40 with very short hair is how authorities describe the suspect.

Alleged arson suspect vehicle
Police released photos of a suspected vehicle allegedly involved in ballot box fires in Vancouver and Portland. (Portland Police Bureau)

The police stated that surveillance footage showed a man driving a black or dark-colored Volvo S-60 between 2001 and 2004, without a front license plate but with a rear plate with unknown characters.

In the Oct. 8 incident, no ballots were damaged. However, three ballots were damaged in the arson in Portland, while hundreds were damaged in the attack in Vancouver.

In Vancouver, Washington, the auditor, Greg Kimsey, stated that the exact number of ballots destroyed is unknown, but officials retrieved approximately 475 damaged ballots from the box.

Kimsey has called the arsons a "direct attack on democracy."

Portland ballot box fire
A ballot box is seen damaged in Portland, Ore., on Monday, Oct. 28 following a fire, police say. (Portland Police Bureau)

The police will intensify patrols around ballot drop box locations, and Clark County Elections Office staff will monitor ballot boxes continuously until the election concludes.

On Wednesday, election staff intended to examine the damaged ballots to determine who cast them, so that those voters could receive replacement ballots.

Planet Chronicle Digital's Stepheny Price contributed to this report.

by Bradford Betz

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