With just days until the U.S. presidential election day, scheduled for Nov. 5, Oregon state investigators have shared new details about a man they say is responsible for three recent ballot box fires that damaged hundreds of ballots.
Authorities warned that the suspect could continue the attacks.
Investigators have not identified the suspect, Portland Police Chief Bob Day said Wednesday, but police have released a physical description and other information.
Day told reporters that police want to “anticipate” that the suspect will strike again, and that security has been beefed up at approximately 30 polling places in the city of Portland.
Ballot box fires in the US
Fires have been set at three polling places in the Portland area in the past three weeks.
An “incendiary weapon” was found stuck in the side of a ballot drop box in Portland last Monday (28) morning and damaged some of the ballots, but most were not affected because of a fire suppression system installed. in the ballot box.
Another fire was set at a ballot box in Vancouver, Washington, on the same day.
Authorities identified 488 damaged ballots, which were removed from the burned ballot box in Vancouver. Of those voters, 345 have already requested new ballots, according to election officials.
The electoral team will send another 143 replacement ballots to voters this Thursday (31), officials said on X (formerly Twitter). Workers were unable to identify six of the damaged ballots.
Other ballots may have been completely burned to ash and therefore unidentifiable, Clark County officials said in a news release Wednesday.
This content was originally published in US police increase security at polls in Oregon after attacks on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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