About 475 damaged ballots retrieved from burned drop box in Washington state, auditor says

VANCOUVER, Wash. (AP) — About 475 damaged ballots were retrieved from a ballot container that was burned early Monday successful southwest Washington, a region charismatic said Tuesday.

Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey said workers connected Wednesday will statesman searching done nan damaged ballots for elector accusation successful bid to interaction them astir getting a caller ballot. He said officials judge that though damaged, nan workers will beryllium capable to propulsion elector accusation from nan ballots.

The damaged ballots are abstracted from an chartless number that were destroyed, Kimsey said.

Incendiary devices damaged and destroyed hundreds of ballots astatine a driblet container successful Vancouver, Washington, and damaged 3 ballots astatine a container successful Portland, Oregon, successful what federal, authorities and section officials person decried arsenic an onslaught connected populist earlier a heated Election Day.

Authorities person said that capable worldly from nan incendiary devices was recovered to nexus nan 2 fires connected Monday, arsenic good arsenic an Oct. 8 incident, erstwhile an incendiary instrumentality was placed astatine a different ballot driblet container successful Vancouver. No ballots were damaged successful that incident.

Surveillance images captured a Volvo pulling up to nan driblet container successful Portland conscionable earlier information unit adjacent discovered a occurrence wrong nan box, Portland Police Bureau spokesperson Mike Benner has said. The incendiary devices were attached to nan extracurricular of nan boxes.

The FBI is among nan agencies investigating. U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman and Greg Austin, acting typical supplier successful complaint of nan FBI Seattle section office, said successful a associated connection Tuesday that they wanted to guarantee residents that they are moving together to analyse nan fires and will activity to clasp nan personification aliases group responsible “fully accountable.”

No arrests had been announced arsenic of Tuesday evening.

The occurrence astatine nan driblet container successful Portland was extinguished quickly acknowledgment to a suppression strategy wrong nan container and a adjacent information guard, constabulary said.

Several hours later, different occurrence was discovered astatine a transit halfway driblet container crossed nan Columbia River successful Vancouver. Vancouver is nan biggest metropolis successful Washington’s 3rd Congressional District, nan tract of what is expected to beryllium one of nan closest U.S. House races successful nan country, betwixt first-term Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and Republican challenger Joe Kent.

The ballot container successful Vancouver besides had a occurrence suppression strategy inside, but that grounded to forestall hundreds of ballots from burning, according to Kimsey. He has urged voters who dropped their ballots successful nan transit halfway container aft 11 a.m. Saturday to interaction his agency for a replacement ballot.

The agency is expanding really often it collects ballots and changing postulation times to nan evening, Kimsey said, to support nan ballot boxes from remaining afloat of ballots overnight erstwhile akin crimes are considered much apt to occur.

Officials successful astatine slightest 2 different counties successful Washington — including successful King County, wherever Seattle is located, — announced Tuesday that ballot driblet boxes will beryllium checked much often up until Election Day.