The New York Times reported that the devices used to burn ballot boxes in Oregon and Washington have “Free Gaza” on them.
The ballot boxes caught fire in Portland, OR, and Vancouver, WA, on Monday morning.
The fires both occurred early Monday within a short time of each other in Portland, Ore., and just across the state line in Vancouver, Wash.The “Free Gaza” message appeared not only on the two devices, which were discovered on Monday, but also on a device found at a third ballot box this month in Vancouver, according to the law enforcement officials. That device also had the words “Free Palestine” on it.Officials said at a news conference that they believed all three events were linked. They later released surveillance images of a suspect vehicle, asking for the public’s help in identifying the person driving a dark, early 2000s Volvo.
One officer said the police sent the devices to a “terrorist explosive device analytical center in Huntsville, Ala.”
“There was enough evidence collected at all three scenes that lead us to believe that all three incidents are connected, and we cannot get into more detail,” according to Mike Benner, a spokesman for the Portland Police Bureau.
The Portland box had an automatic fire suppressant system, which saved most of the ballots.
Election officials contacted “three voters whose ballots were damaged.”
Vancouver’s ballot boxes in Clark County now have 24-hour security guards. Officials will also increase patrols around the drop boxes.
That fire damaged around 475 ballots.
DHS sent a warning a few months ago about online chatter about targeting ballot boxes.
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