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Authorities believe two ballot boxes in Oregon and Washington were set on fire with incendiary devices early Monday in related incidents, according to police.
The arson attacks, occurring near the Oregon-Washington border, are also thought to be linked to an earlier ballot box fire this month in Vancouver, Washington, police said.
Portland police first responded to Monday’s incident at around 3:30 a.m. local time, where a fire was reported in a ballot box. Security at the Multnomah County Elections Division quickly intervened and extinguished the flames, officials reported.
Portland Police Bureau spokesperson Mike Benner stated at a Monday press briefing, "Our officers quickly identified that an incendiary device had been attached to the ballot box, which is what ignited the fire."
The bureau's explosive disposal unit safely removed the device, police reported.
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The fire suppressant prevented additional damage and safeguarded "virtually all the ballots," with only three sustaining damage, the Multnomah County Elections Division said in a press release.
Elections officials are reaching out to the three affected voters to provide replacement ballots.
Multnomah County Elections Director Tim Scott told ABC News that 409 ballots inside the ballot box "were undamaged" and preserved thanks to the fire suppressant.
Oregon Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade said the limited impact to ballots "shows that our systems are safe and secure."
"Make no mistake, an attack on a ballot box is an attack on our democracy and completely unacceptable," Griffin-Valade said in a statement. "Whatever the motivation behind this incident, there is no justification for any attempt to disenfranchise voters."