Over the past week, two ballot drop boxes and one USPS mailbox have been torched in three separate incidents in Arizona, Oregon and Washington.
Early on October 28, arson attacks targeted two ballot drop boxes situated in Vancouver, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. This followed an incident on October 24 when a free-standing mailbox at a U.S. Postal Office in Phoenix, Arizona, was set on fire.
The attacks come at a time of heightened tensions ahead of the 2024 presidential election on November 5 and follow on from the contested 2020 presidential poll.
Donald Trump is continuing to insist the 2020 contest was rigged against him, though this has been repeatedly dismissed in the courts and by independent election experts.
Over the past few months, Trump has targeted mail-in voting in particular with unsubstantiated allegations of vote rigging, branding it “corrupt” during events in Michigan and Pennsylvania. However, Trump’s team has also encouraged his supporters to vote early, and earlier this month called for some restrictions on early voting and absentee ballots to be lifted in areas of North Carolina badly hit by Hurricane Helene.
Newsweek has provided a summary of the attacks below along with a map showing their locations, with the Washington and Oregon incidents appearing as one circle due to their close proximity.
Pheonix, Arizona
The Phoenix Police Department said it was called shortly after 1:00 a.m. local time on October 24 to a mailbox that had been set on fire at 3900 North 7th Avenue.
Together with the Phoenix Fire Department’s Arson Investigation Taskforce police investigated the blaze, securing the scene and studying relevant CCTV footage.
Police later arrested 35-year-old Dieter Klofkorn in relation to the incident. According to a statement released by Phoenix police Klofkorn “admitted to committing the arson” but denied his actions were politically motivated, saying he wanted to be arrested. The suspect was booked into jail “on one felony count of Arson of Property.”
Initially, Phoenix police said 20 ballots had been damaged in the blaze, though Arizona’s Secretary of State’s Office later reduced this figure to five, according to ABC News.
Responding to the incident on X Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said: “There is zero tolerance for criminal activity in our community, and we are working collaboratively with every level of government to bring the perpetrator to justice.”
Portland, Oregon
At around 3:30 a.m. local time on Monday, the Portland Police Bureau was alerted to a fire at a Multnomah County ballot box situated in the 1000 block of S.E. Morrison Street.
In a statement, Multnomah County said the fire was caused by an “incendiary device” and that it was being investigated by the Police Bureau’s Explosive Disposal Unit.
Stock photo showing people dropping off their ballots at the Los Angeles County Registrar on October 28, 2024, in Norwalk, California, two days after early voting in Los Angeles County began. Over the past week two ballot drop boxes and one USPS mailbox have been torched in three separate incidents in the states of Arizona, Oregon and Washington.
FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/GETTY
Multnomah County said that fire suppressant protected most of the ballots, with only three being damaged. These three will be contacted “via unique identifiers on their ballot envelopes” so they can receive replacements.
In a statement, Oregon Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade said: “Make no mistake, an attack on a ballot box is an attack on our democracy and completely unacceptable. Whatever the motivation behind this incident, there is no justification for any attempt to disenfranchise voters.”
Vancouver, Washington
Just hours after the Oregon incident, a ballot box was torched in Vancouver, Washington, a small town around 10 miles from Portland.
The incident took place by Fisher’s Landing Transit Center with officials saying the blaze began at around 4 a.m., destroying several hundred ballots.
According to Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey, the box was fitted with a fire suppression system but unlike in Portland it “doesn’t appear it worked very well.”
At a press conference on Monday, police said they believe the Oregon and Washington arson attacks are connected, and noted they are “very similar” to a failed attempt to burn another Vancouver ballot drop box which occurred on October 8.
In a statement, Washington Secretary of State Steven Hobbs, who is responsible for overseeing the state’s elections, said: “We take the safety of our election workers seriously and will not tolerate threats or acts of violence that seek to undermine the democratic process.”
Police said they are seeking a dark-colored Volvo S60, of model year 2001-2004, in connection with the Oregon and Washington attacks. Patrols have been stepped up around ballot box sites to deter further incidents.
