The FBI is offering up to $25,000 to anyone that can provide information for identifying the suspect involved in setting fire to the ballot box fires in Vancouver, Wash. and Portland, Ore., according to an information poster released by the FBI National Press Office on Wednesday.
The poster includes photos of the car that the suspect is believed to have driven and information about the suspect, according to the information provided.
The poster comes after ballot drop box fires occurred in Vancouver and Portland prior to Election Day.
An incendiary device was placed inside the Portland ballot box, officials said, but fire suppressant inside protected “virtually all” the ballots. Three ballots were identified as damaged, and the affected voters were contacted for replacements.
Hundreds of ballots were damaged at the Vancouver location, where a suspected incendiary device was found next to the drop box. It’s possible some ballots were completely burned, and a half-dozen were unidentifiable. But elections staff were able to identify 488 damaged ballots, according to the county.
The fires had sparked fears prior to Election Day, with one official describing it as “a direct attack on democracy.” Although experts said that the incidents mark rare disruptions to election administration, they raised concerns about whether more threats or attacks could happen amid a tense, polarized race.
