NEW: ‘Hundreds’ Of Ballots Destroyed In Critical Swing District That Could Decide House Control

An apparent act of arson has led to the destruction of “hundreds” of mail-in ballots with just a week before Election Day, throwing into question whether those swing state voters will be identified and given another opportunity to cast their ballots in time.

KATU reported on a smoky scene outside Fisher’s Landing Transit Center in Vancouver, Washington in the early hours of Monday morning where authorities say a vandal had set fire to a drop box containing hundreds of ballots. Footage captured by the ABC affiliate shows heavy smoke billowing out from the metal box stationed near Southeast 162nd Avenue just after 6 a.m. Cameras also shot the disturbing scene as firefighters removed what remained of the ballots and threw them on the ground where they continued to smolder. The race for Congress in Washington’s 3rd district, which includes Clark County, is rated a “toss-up” by the Cook Political Report, and could be the tipping point seat that decides House control.

(FOCUS GROUP: Do You Blame KAMALA or TRUMP for record inflation?)

This is in #WA03. In 2022, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D) only beat Joe Kent (R) here by 2,629 votes. The rematch is a Toss Up. https://t.co/zeYNyQbkoi

— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) October 28, 2024

The elections auditor for populous Clark County confirmed that the most recent pickup of ballots from the box was 8 a.m. Sunday morning, leaving nearly 24 hours for ballots to accumulate before nearly all were destroyed. Officials told the outlet that they believe only a handful will be saved. The tragedy came just several hours after police reported the similar destruction of a drop box in Portland, Oregon where investigators say they believe an incendiary device was dropped inside, exploding and causing damage to untold number of ballots.

Although Washington state is all but certain to go for Harris at the presidential level, aggressive campaigning down the tickets means ballot burning is potentially more devastating for Republicans campaigning for governor and U.S. Senate. Former GOP congressman Dave Reichert, a moderate, is down 14 points against Democratic Attorney General Bob Ferguson, a margin smaller than the average Harris lead posted by FiveThirtyEight. Raul Garcia, an emergency room physician running for Senate against incumbent Maria Cantwell (D-WA), trails by 15.

Both Republicans and Democrats expect to spend small fortunes on post-election legal challenges that will hinge on allegations of voter fraud or ballot tampering. On Sunday a federal judge struck down Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s effort to purge nearly 100,000 voters from the state’s database after he put forward evidence suggesting they are minors or illegal immigrants ineligible to vote. In Arizona, Democrats are scrambling to undo a fiasco where approximately 100,000 voters have been sent the wrong ballot, a situation that Gov. Katie Hobbs and other party leaders acknowledge is a “disaster” for the swing state. Stephen Richer, a local election official and Republican, announced in September he would be suing Democratic Secretary of State Adrian Fontes over the error.

“Later today, my office is suing the Secretary’s office regarding how to handle certain voters who need to provide documented proof of citizenship,” he wrote at the time. “Since 2004, Arizona has been the only state in the country to require that a voter provide documented proof of citizenship in order to vote a full ballot. For all other states, the registrant simply has to attest under penalty of law that he is a United States citizen. Since 1996, Arizona has also required that residents provide proof of citizenship in order to obtain most forms of drivers licenses.”

(BREAKING: The Dow Jones Just Flashed “Depression” – But Nobody Is Paying Attention)