Clark County Auditor identifies 488 damaged ballots from burned ballot box
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The Clark County Auditor's Office is releasing more information about the ballots burned in a ballot box fire that happened on Monday.
The ballot box fire happened at the Fisher's Landing C-Tran Transit Center in Vancouver. It was one of two ballot box fires that happened on Monday, with the other one being in Portland. Authorities said they believe the two cases may be connected and possibly in connection to a third ballot box fire that happened in early October in Vancouver.
According to Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey, elections staff successfully identified 488 damaged ballots retrieved from Monday's vandalized ballot box in Vancouver. Out of those identified, 345 of the voters had already contacted the elections office to request a replacement ballot as of Tuesday evening, officials said.
Six of the ballots recovered were so damaged, they could not be identified.
It's unclear what the total number of ballots were in the box when the fire happened.
"Other ballots may have been completely burned to ash, and therefore, unidentifiable," Clark County Officials said in a release.
“I appreciate everyone’s understanding and patience as we work through this unprecedented event,” said County Auditor Greg Kimsey. “We have taken action that I hope will increase voters’ confidence in using the county’s ballot drop boxes.”
Officials said steps are being taken to help secure the ballots from drop boxes, including election workers changing the pickup times to 5:30 p.m. each day, an increased law enforcement presence at ballot boxes, and 24/7 observance of all 22 ballot boxes in Clark County by Elections Office employees. The workers observing the boxes won't confront anyone but will report any suspicious activities to authorities.
The final deadline for dropping off your ballot is by 8 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 5.
There are alternatives to using ballot boxes, as well, such as sending mail-in ballots via USPS —with no postage required in the envelope they came in — so long as it is postmarked no later than Nov. 5. There's also the option to deliver ballots directly to the Clark County Elections Office at 1408 Franklin St. in Vancouver.