FBI and Portland PD release suspect info in ballot drop box arsons

Police in Portland, Ore., have released new details about the suspect in Monday’s ballot box fires in Southeast Portland and Vancouver, Wash.

The Portland Police Bureau reported late Wednesday that the suspect is a “Caucasian male, 30-40 years of age, very short hair or balding, thin to medium build, thin face, wearing a dark shirt, highly knowledgeable in both metal fabrication and welding.”

PPB reported the suspect’s vehicle is “most likely a 2001-2004 Volvo S60, more matte in color than a standard shiny finish in places, tan or light gray interior, aftermarket grill with Volvo emblem missing, dark wheels, unpainted body trim, no front license plate.”

In the Portland incident, fire suppression inside the drop box prevented flames from spreading, leaving only three damaged ballots.

In Vancouver, similar fire suppression inside the box failed and 488 ballots were damaged.

Clark County Elections Office officials said Wednesday that 345 voters have already contacted the elections office to request a replacement ballot. Six ballots were unidentifiable, and election staff are working to identify other voters whose ballots may have been damaged or destroyed.

On Thursday morning, Clark County issued a news release stating, “There may be individuals and groups in the county that have set up boxes and invited voters to place their ballots in that box. This is known as ballot harvesting. Please know that these are not official ballot drop boxes and not affiliated with the Clark County Elections Office.”

The Vancouver Police Department issued a news release as well: “Voters who want to deposit their ballots in a staffed, official ballot drop box, are encouraged to use the official ballot drop box at the Elections Office at 1408 Franklin St., Vancouver, open M-F 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; this Saturday, Nov. 2, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Election Day Nov. 5, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.”

In the aftermath of the recent ballot box blazes, county elections officials across the most populous parts of Washington are beefing up security around ballot boxes.

Sierra Cornelius with the Snohomish County Auditor’s Office emailed The Center Square to note her office has instituted 24-hour security measures at drop boxes.

“We have private security monitoring all our ballot drop boxes, including overnight patrols, and we have conferred with local law enforcement in each jurisdiction regarding the locations and security of ballot drop boxes,” Cornelius said.

She added that ballots are regularly collected by trained teams at all locations and a chain of custody log is maintained throughout the process.

King County elections staff told The Center Square they are working with local law enforcement to ensure ballot drop boxes are not tampered with.

“We are adding additional pickups, so all of them will be picked up at least twice a day with our busier boxes picked up more than that and we’ll be adding pickups as we move closer to election day next week,” said Halei Watkins, communications manager at King County Elections.