How elections officials plan to keep your ballot safe
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Officials said voters should have faith that their ballots are secure. Photo: Ankur Dholakia/AFP via Getty Images
Local election officials said they will increase security at ballot drop sites in the wake of a series of arson attacks on ballot boxes in Portland and Vancouver.
Why it matters: The attacks have raised questions about ballot security in Oregon and Washington with just a week until Election Day.
Catch up quick: Officials said an arsonist, or arsonists, set fire to two ballot drop boxes early Monday morning, leaving three ballots "slightly singed" in Portland but destroying hundreds in Vancouver, home to a hotly contested congressional race.
- Police have identified a vehicle — a dark-colored Volvo S60 — they believe is linked to the fires, and the FBI is investigating.
The latest: In addition to 24-hour patrols of drop boxes by a private security firm contracted by Multnomah County, Portland police officers will now also be monitoring drop sites, county elections director Tim Scott told Axios.
- In Clark County, Auditor Greg Kimsey announced Tuesday that the sheriff's office will increase patrols around ballot boxes and that elections office employees will act as observers 24 hours a day.
Threat level: Scott said the fact that so few ballots were damaged in Portland is proof the county's safeguards are effective.
- Of the 412 ballots in the box, only three were damaged — largely due to fire suppression devices in the box — and the county has already provided replacement ballots to the affected voters.
What they're saying: Scott emphasized that ballot drop boxes are just one of several ways to turn in your ballot in the county.
- Voters can mail in their ballots, deposit them at drop boxes in most libraries, or take them to the Voting Center Express in Gresham.
- "There are options, and all of those options are secure," Scott said.
- Kimsey said in a press release that he took the fires personally, calling them "an attack on American democracy."
The bottom line: Voters in Oregon and Washington can track their ballots to make sure they end up where they should. Clark County voters can do so here, and Multnomah County voters can do so here.