Clark County election officials adding ballot box protections ahead of Election Day

CLARK COUNTY, Wash. (KPTV) - With the November election rapidly approaching, ballots head out to voters in Oregon and Washington this week. But after an arsonist targeted ballot boxes two years ago, officials are taking extra precautions.

Just weeks before the 2024 general election, investigators say someone placed incendiary devices on drop boxes in both Portland and Vancouver. While a fire suppression system saved most ballots in Portland, hundreds were destroyed in Vancouver.

The arsonist has never been caught, but Clark County auditor Greg Kimsey said they aren’t taking any chances this time around.

“A bomb was attached to the ballot drop box and even though there was a video camera at that location, we have video of the guy doing this, we have decided to put video cameras on all of our 22 ballot drop boxes,” said Kimsey.

Cameras are just the first line of defense. Boxes across the county now feature internal fire suppression systems, plus sensors that alert officials instantly if a box is struck, tampered with, or opened.

“The entire terrible tragedy was on video recording but we do think it serves as a deterrent to bad behavior and also we hope that if something bad does happen in the future, that it provides actual intelligence for law enforcement to arrest and hopefully prosecute the person,” said Kimsey.

Safeguards Kimsey hopes will restore peace of mind to voters casting their ballots by mail or drop box.

“The state of Washington and Oregon, we’ve had many years to refine our vote by mail system, there are lots of checks, and controls, procedures in place to ensure the election results accurately and comprehensively reflect the collective decision of voters who chose to participate in that election,” Kimsey said.

Washington ballots hit the mail Tuesday, and Kimsey’s advice is simple — don’t wait until deadline day.

“it’s a very large piece of paper full of decisions that voters will have to make, we really encourage voters to take a look at that ballot right away, and vote their ballot early, in case they have an issue or something, voting early gives them time to cure that issue,” said Kimsey.

Also, Tuesday is the last day to register to vote in Oregon, and ballots across the state will be mailed Wednesday.