Hundreds of ballots were destroyed by fires this week at two ballot drop boxes in the Pacific Northwest

UNITED STATES — With just days until Election Day, hundreds of ballots were destroyed by fires this week at two ballot drop boxes in the Pacific Northwest, and investigators are searching for a culprit they say is responsible for both.

Many of the ballots in a drop box in Portland were unaffected, but hundreds of ballots were destroyed in a second ballot box fire in nearby Vancouver, Washington, election officials said. The incidents are believed to be related to a third incident earlier this month in Vancouver.

The incidents come as a US Department of Homeland Security bulletin from September obtained by the watchdog group Property of the People warned, “Some social media users are discussing and encouraging various methods of sabotaging ballot drop boxes and avoiding detection, likely heightening the potential for targeting of this election infrastructure through the 2024 election cycle... cnn.com