As the United States moves closer to Election Day, fears over the safety and integrity of the democratic process continue to grow as vandalism against ballot drop boxes in Oregon and Washington states has fanned the flames of new angst.
In what appear to be connected incidents, flammable devices were placed against two ballot drop boxes-one in Portland, Oregon, and the other in Vancouver, Washington-which caused damage to hundreds of ballots.
The incidents come at an especially vulnerable time when two states are wholly dependent upon mail-in and drop-box voting as part of their election infrastructure.
Portland authorities said the incidents appeared to be related, although a different type of attack occurred this month on October 8 in Vancouver.
No ballot damage occurred there. The most recent attacks, however, caused the fire suppression system in Vancouver to fail, resulting in the unfortunate destruction of several hundred ballots.
Clark County, Washington, elected auditor Greg Kimsey was distraught over the loss. "It's heartbreaking," Kimsey said. "It's a direct attack on democracy." The scale of damage varied between the two locations, with Vancouver suffering a significant loss of ballots while Portland saw just three ballots destroyed.
Third district in Washington political stakes increase concerns
In the Washington congressional race, Vancouver is at the forefront of an extremely contested contest for state's third congressional district. The democratic incumbent Marie Gluesenkamp Perez bids to win her seat to a second term against a Republican challenger in the shape of former Special Forces officer Joe Kent. He is a supporter of incumbent Donald Trump, Perez having taken the seat with a margin just below 3,000 votes back in 2022 and mounting political tension in the district ever since.
Both candidates have denounced the attacks on the ballot boxes. They issued statements to discourage any attempts to thwart the democratic process. Perez proposed more police presence in precincts where drop boxes are accessible so that voters feel safe casting their ballots. Protecting the infrastructure of voting from interference, he underscored the important role played by these polling stations in the voting process. "There is absolutely zero place in our democracy for political violence," said Perez while calling for the cooperation of both federal and local law enforcement in bringing in the culprits.
Kent reiterated the words of Perez to his supporters to hold strong on voting and assuring the voters that law enforcement would do everything possible to break the case. "I condemn these attacks against our democratic process," Kent declared, in an effort to galvanize public confidence in their ability to vote without intimidation.
In recent years, drop boxes have been coming under more scrutiny from some Republican factions questioning how secure they are-questions that began after the disputed 2020 presidential election. Former President Donald Trump's claims of election fraud meant more attention was brought toward drop boxes, as evidenced by six Republican-led states banning their use entirely. Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said he has sound voting practices in place; voters affected by the ban can order replacement ballots if their vote submissions remain unconfirmed by the system.
He reminded everyone that Washington state does not tolerate interference or threats toward election workers and against the democratic process itself. "Even in light of this event, I am absolutely confident in our county elections officials' ability to maintain safe and secure elections here in Washington for all our voters," Hobbs continued to reassure that measures have been taken to protect the sanctity of the vote.
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This talks of an undercurrent of mistrust which penetrated the American political culture against both the electoral as well as democratic processes as well as a disowning election activity itself. Surveillance footage has now captured images of an on-the-road car parked alongside Portland ballot drop, and there is intensified pursuance of possibly a guilty person. Attacks on the ballot box call issues on focus areas of an election as well as of security to the voters themselves who can come in handy between Election Day and decisive Mid-term elections.
In an environment where the divisions of politics are consistently eroding public confidence, such incidents remind people to guard democratic institutions from such maneuvers and to counter the tactics that seek to instill fear and confusion among the voters. As Perez says, "Our right to vote needs to be protected at all costs.". We can't back down to intimidation." The power of law enforcement and election officials in the days ahead will make a difference between democracy holding and intimidation and violence prevailing.
