Oregon, Washington ballot boxes set aflame, police release photo of at-large suspect's car

The Portland, Oregon Police Bureau released two photos of an at-large suspect's car after ballot boxes for this year's election were set aflame Monday in Oregon and Washington State.

A ballot box in southeast Portland and at least one ballot box in the nearby Vancouver, Washington area were set on fire, according to police. The incidents come amid heightened safety and security concerns as the Nov. 5 election nears.

Election officials said the Vancouver fire resulted in hundreds of burned ballots.

Shasti Conrad, chair of the Washington State Democratic Party, said in a statement to USA Today that the incident represented “an attempt to disenfranchise” voters, and the state party trusts law enforcement and officials will "find those responsible and hold them accountable."

“We don’t know the motive behind these acts,” Portland police bureau assistant chief Amanda McMillan said in a press release. “We do know acts like this are targeted and they're intentional and we’re concerned about that intentional act trying to impact the election process.”

The city of Vancouver said in a press release that its police responded to an arson incident at a ballot box at about 4 a.m. PDT Monday. The Portland Police Bureau, which responded to reports of a fire at 3:30 a.m. PDT, said in its press release the suspect vehicle it identified was tied to "two similar incidents" in the Vancouver area.

Detectives have determined the incendiary device that ignited the Portland fire was attached to the side of the box, according to Portland police. Security personnel from the area had already put out the fire by the time officers arrived.

Vancouver police found a suspicious device next to a ballot box that was on fire, according to the city, which said the FBI is investigating.

Department of Homeland Security response

In response to the news about the attacks on ballot boxes, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in a statement to USA Today that the U.S. “remains in a heightened, dynamic threat environment and we continue to share information with our law enforcement partners about the threats posed by domestic violent extremists in the context of the 2024 election.”

The department pointed to the possibility of attacks on ballot boxes in its 2025 Homeland Threat Assessment released just this month.

“We expect (domestic violent extremists) will pose the most significant physical threat to government officials, voters, and elections-related personnel and infrastructure, including polling places, ballot drop box locations, voter registration sites, campaign events, political party offices, and vote counting sites,” the assessment said.

The department has also warned that election officials and offices could be targeted with hoax bomb threats, swatting, doxxing, and mailed letters with white powder "to instill fear and disrupt campaign and election operations."

"Some (domestic violent extremists) could also react violently should their preferred candidate lose, or they could seek to exploit possible civil unrest if there are perceptions of election fraud," according to the assessment.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ballot boxes on fire: Police release photo of at-large suspect's car