Ballot box fires in Oregon and Washington linked, police identify ‘suspicious vehicle’: ‘Attack on democracy’

Authorities in Oregon and Washington have identified a “suspicious vehicle” they say is linked incendiary devices that caused a fire at polls in both states.

The Portland Police Bureau (PPB) released two surveillance photos of a black or dark-colored Volvo S-60 that they believe are linked to the ballot box fires. The vehicle does not have a front license plate, but it does have an unknown rear plate, police said.

Three ballots were destroyed in a fire at a ballot box in Portland, Oregon, on Monday morning. A few hours later, hundreds of ballots were destroyed in a mailbox fire in nearby Vancouver, Washington.

Both ballot boxes were equipped with fire suppression systems, but the system at the Vancouver ballot box failed, causing more ballots to be destroyed.

‘FLAMMABLE DEVICE’ STARTS FIRE AT PORTLAND, OREGON BALLOT BOX

Police said the incendiary devices were placed on the outside of the boxes.

said during a press conference Monday authorities said they were able to do so to recover enough material from the devices to prove that the two fires were related. They also said the incidents were related to an Oct. 8 incident in which an incendiary device was placed in another ballot box in Vancouver.

“We do not know the motive behind these actions,” said PPB Assistant Chief Amanda McMillan. “We know that these types of acts are targeted, and that they are deliberate, and we are concerned about this deliberate act that seeks to influence the electoral process. We are committed to stopping this type of behavior.”

ARIZONA ELECTION BALLOTS DAMAGED AFTER USPS POST BOX BURNED ON FIRE, SUSPECT ARRESTED

Greg Kimsey, longtime elected auditor in Clark County, Washington, which includes Vancouver, urged voters who left their ballots in the transit center box after 11 a.m. Saturday to contact his office for a replacement ballot paper.

“Heartbreaking,” Kimsey said. “It is a direct attack on democracy.”

Kimsey said police will increase patrols around poll locations and Clark County Election Office workers will observe the polls 24 hours a day, seven days a week until the election is over.

He said employees will not confront anyone, but will instead contact police if they notice anything suspicious.

Vancouver is the largest city in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District, the site of what is expected to be one of the closest U.S. House races in the country, between Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and Republican challenger Joe Kent.

The Portland FBI also released a statement on the arson, saying they are actively investigating both situations.

“The FBI is coordinating with federal, state and local partners to actively investigate the two incidents in Vancouver, Washington and Portland, Oregon, in the early morning hours of Monday, October 28, to determine who is responsible,” the statement said.

BATTLEGROUND STATE VOTING DATA REVEAL MORE THAN 200,000 VOTES IN RED COUNTIES AFFECTED BY HURRICANE

The FBI encourages anyone with information to contact the nearest FBI office, submit information at tips.fbi.gov or call 1-800-225-5324.

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These latest incidents come just days after about two dozen ballots were damaged when a U.S. Postal Service mailbox was set on fire in Phoenix.

The suspect in the Arizona arson case, Dieter Klofkorn, 35, has since been arrested on one felony charge: arson of property.

Greg Norman of Fox News Digital and The Associated Press contributed to this report.