FBI offers $25,000 reward for information on ballot box fires in Washington and Oregon

The FBI is offering up to $25,000 in exchange for information about the suspect they believe set fire to several ballot boxes in the Pacific Northwest during early voting last month.

Hundreds of ballots were destroyed or damaged across three fires reported at drop boxes in Vancouver, Washington and Portland, Oregon – both states where most people vote by mail or ballot drop off instead of in-person.

The first incident occurred on October 8 in Vancouver, just across the Columbia River from Portland, when a ballot box was set on fire between 3:30 a.m. and 4 a.m. local time, the FBI said.

Then, on October 28, “improvised incendiary devices” were placed on ballot drop boxes in Vancouver and Portland between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. local time, the FBI said.

On Wednesday, the FBI released surveillance video from October 28, showing an individual driving up to a Portland ballot box. The person appeared to light an item and place it on the ballot box before driving away. The video shows smoke beginning to rise from the side of the box, then an eruption of sparks and flames is seen.

Authorities believe the same suspect is responsible for all three fires.

The vehicle was described by the FBI as an early 2003 to 2004 Volvo S-60 sedan that’s dark in color, with dark wheels and a light-colored interior.

The car did not have a Volvo logo on the front grill and, at the time of the October 28 incidents, had a fraudulent temporary Washington license plate on the rear – which the FBI cautioned may no longer be on the vehicle.

The FBI described the driver as a White man with thinning hair, estimated between 30 to 40 years old. It is believed the man may have some experience with metal work and welding, said the FBI.

Portland police previously described “very detailed” welding on the incendiary devices, saying the suspect “obviously has some skills in that area,” as CNN has reported.

Nearly 500 damaged ballots were retrieved from one of the burned ballot boxes in Vancouver, while most of the Portland ballots survived because of fire suppressant installed in the ballot box, according to election officials.

Election staff said they were able to mail hundreds of replacement ballots to the affected voters – though several were unidentifiable, and some ballots may have been burned completely to ash, officials said at the time.

Voting in Oregon and Washington is done almost entirely by mail or ballot drop off. Less than 1% of people in Oregon’s Multnomah County vote in person, county elections director Tim Scott said.

In Clark County, Washington, 60% of the ballots received are from ballot drop boxes and 40% are received by mail, according to Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey.

The incidents, which came just days before Election Day, spurred authorities to step up security around ballot boxes in the area, including drive-by police patrols.