In what’s being called a “direct attack on democracy,” three ballot boxes with hundreds of ballots were harmed by incendiary devices, causing fires in Washington and Oregon.

Only a week before the ‘too close to call’ presidential election, where every vote counts, incendiary devices were activated at two Portland, Oregon, ballot boxes and one in Vancouver, Washington. Hundreds of ballots were destroyed by fire, in what is being called a “direct attack on democracy.”

The FBI and local police authorities are investigating.

The New York Times reported that two of the incendiary devices found in Vancouver and Portland had the words “Free Gaza” on them, while the third was marked with, Free Palestine.”

The first fire occurred in a drop box in Portland, Oregon, where a special suppression system built inside the ballot dropbox for ballots activated, extinguishing the fire. Portland police said a security guard near the Dropbox was on hand, and that only three ballots were damaged.

Only a few hours later, however, another fire happened at a drop box in nearby Vancouver, Washington. This location is home to the third-largest congressional district in the state. One of the closest House races in the nation, which is being nationally watched for results, may determine the party of majority in the House. The contest is set here in Washington State between Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and Republican challenger Joe Kent.

Luckily, this ballot box in Vancouver also had a fire suppression system set up. Yet, despite the technology to extinguish fires inside the ballot box there, hundreds of ballots were burned.

In a statement, Vancouver elections staff announced they have identified 488 damaged ballots that they took from the ballot box. As of Tuesday, they noted, 345 of the identified voters who used the ballot box prior to the attack had contacted the Elections Office to request replacement ballots. However, they said, six ballots “are unidentifiable, and others may have been completely burned to ash.”

The elected auditor in the area, Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey, told residents that if they dropped their signed ballots in that location, a transit center Dropbox, after 11 AM on Saturday, they could contact his office for a replacement.

Mr. Kimsey said that the targeting of ballot boxes is heartbreaking and that “It’s a direct attack on democracy.” Going forward, he announced, they will be collecting ballots from boxes more often, especially in overnight drop boxes. He said they will also now hire workers on a 24-hours-a-day schedule until the election is over. The new workers' job will solely be to watch the ballot boxes, and they will contact the police if anything suspicious occurs.

Both Washington and Oregon had traditionally used ballot boxes without any issues, until now.

Republicans are extremely critical of ballot boxes and have been the target of the fake right-wing conspiracy theory that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump, who still insists this is the reality during his many speeches and rallies.

As of today, six states including Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina and South Dakota have banned the use of ballot boxes. Ohio and Iowa now restrict their usage, with only one ballot box per county.

In a news conference, Police authorities said that the incendiary devices inside the ballot boxes in Oregon and Washington left enough material to connect both fires. Furthermore, they noted, these incendiary devices were connected to another device planted in another ballot box in Vancouver on October eight, where no ballots were destroyed.

The police shared video images of a Volvo driving up to a Dropbox in Portland. Both incendiary devices were attached to the outside of the ballot boxes.

In Oregon, Carey Kaer, the chief deputy of the law enforcement division at the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office said, “Any form of voter intimidation, disruption, blocking of access or vandalism at these sites will not be tolerated. We will respond quickly and we will be investigating to the fullest extent.”

Mike Benner, a spokesperson for the Portland Police, said that charges for anyone arrested in connection with the fire incidents could include possession of a destructive device; manufacturing of a destructive device; unlawful use of a weapon; criminal mischief; reckless burning; obstructing governmental or judicial administration, and illegal acts related to voting machines or vote-tally systems.

In related news, just a few weeks ago, the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office had to close down its phone system after being overwhelmed by a deluge of angry people asking why Donald Trump’s name did not appear in the Oregon voter’s pamphlet. However, the Republican Party and Trump presidential campaign decided NOT to be included in the pamphlet.

The firestorm was ignited by numerous conservative social media posts, such as one X account with almost four million users. In this disinformation post, the author claimed Donald Trump was not included in the Oregon voter’s pamphlet because the state was trying to block Trump from being on ballots.

The Oregon Secretary of State’s Office replied to the untrue allegations, saying, “The Trump campaign chose not to participate. It was not an omission by officials. Trump/Vance will still be on your ballot. The GOP clarified this in May: "The decision not to submit a statement for the voter’s pamphlet was made by the Trump campaign."

Emotions have been running high as Election Day draws closer. Whatever the result, hopefully people will accept the results peacefully and respect the democratic election process which has been a beacon of democracy to the world for centuries.