Ballet boxes were burned in Washington and Oregon on Monday, possibly damaging hundreds of mail-in votes with only about a week to go before Election Day. The Portland Police Bureau responded to reports of a fire in the Buckman neighborhood of the city at about 3:30 a.m. The fire had been extinguished by security personnel who work in the area, and officers soon found an “incendiary device,” characterizing the crime as arson.

Clark County auditor Greg Kimsey said that a large number of ballots had been destroyed in the Vancouver fire at a press conference.

“We are still in the process of coming up with a closer number, but it certainly was hundreds,” Kimsey said.

Kimsey stated that voters who suspect their ballot was in the box at the time of the fire can obtain a replacement ballot through the county’s voting website. He also mentioned that security, both police and civilian, will be heightened around the drop boxes, and ballot collections will take place at 5:30 p.m.

During the press conference, Multnomah County election official Tim Scott stated that the Portland fire resulted in the destruction of only three ballots, and the affected voters would be contacted accordingly.

The boxes that were burned are located about 15 miles away from each and police officials said that they believe the arsons are connected.

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