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Two ballot drop boxes near Portland, Oregon, caught fire overnight. But the county elections director insists officials will “ensure your ballot is safe.”

“We have multiple systems and security measures in place to ensure your ballot is safe,’’ said Multnomah County Elections Director Tim Scott in a press release. 

While left-wing officials and groups constantly insist mail-in voting and drop boxes are “safe and secure,” incidents like this show that gaps in the chain of custody pose a higher risk to one’s vote. In two recent Portland-area cases, drop boxes and ballots literally went up in flames.

The Portland Police Bureau (PPB) responded to a drop box fire on SE Belmont Street around 3:30 a.m. on Monday and found someone had set off an “incendiary device” inside, according to the release.  The elections division claimed a “fire suppressant” had “protected virtually all the ballots,” and that the fire had “only” damaged three ballots. 

This Multnomah County drop box caught fire overnight. Courtesy of Portland Police Bureau

The elections division will “contact those three voters” whose ballots burned to offer replacements, according to the release. Anyone who submitted a ballot at the targeted drop box from 3:30 p.m. Saturday to 3 a.m. Monday should contact the elections office with concerns.

According to the PPB, the Portland Fire Investigations Unit is looking into the matter, and anyone with information should call the unit’s tip line at 503-823-3473. Officials are also asking the public to call 911 to report any suspicious activity near drop boxes.

Meanwhile, someone lit another drop box on fire just across the state line in nearby Vancouver, Washington. These ballots were not as fortunate. According to KATU, hundreds of ballots were in the box, and likely only a handful were salvageable. 

Vancouver Police responded to the drop box fire on SE 164th Avenue close to 4:00 a.m. on Monday, according to a release from the department. Officers found a “suspicious device next to the box,” which was “smoking and on fire.” Footage shows a pile of burning ballots.

First responders gathered the device and put out the fire, according to the release. The FBI is also investigating.

Officials had most recently picked up ballots from the drop box around 11 a.m. on Saturday. According to KGW, officials in Clark County — which contains Vancouver — are asking anyone who dropped a ballot in the box after that point to contact their office. 

Earlier this month, police responded to another Vancouver drop box around 4:00 a.m. after witnesses said they saw smoke, according to FOX 12. Police found a “suspicious device nearby” and called the bomb squad to remove it.

Vancouver lies in a competitive House district, in which Republican Joe Kent is running to unseat Democrat Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, who is friendly with Antifa.

In 2020, Seattle Antifa planned a riot with an illustration of a drop box on fire. In 2024, a Portland-area Antifa group has already begun planning violence for Election Day, seeking to upend the electoral process, and the PBB Rapid Response Team has been preparing for riots.

Just days ago in Phoenix, Arizona, someone lit a USPS mail collection box on fire during the night, according to Arizona’s Family. The fire damaged close to 20 ballots, and police arrested the suspect. The city lies in Maricopa County, whose chief election official, Stephen Richer, discouraged citizens from monitoring drop boxes.

For more election news and updates, visit electionbriefing.com.

Logan Washburn is a staff writer covering election integrity. He graduated from Hillsdale College, served as Christopher Rufo’s editorial assistant, and has bylines in The Wall Street Journal, The Tennessean, and The Daily Caller. Logan is originally from Central Oregon but now lives in rural Michigan.