Fires set in ballot drop boxes destroy hundreds of US election vote
Incendiary devices have been set off at two ballot drop boxes — one in Portland and another in nearby Vancouver, Washington — destroying hundreds of ballots in what one official called a “direct attack on democracy” about a week before a heated US election day.
The early morning fire at the drop box in Portland was extinguished quickly thanks to a suppression system inside the box as well as a nearby security guard, police said, and just three ballots were damaged there.
But within a few hours, another fire was discovered at a transit centre drop box across the Columbia River in Vancouver.
This image released by the Portland Police Bureau shows a ballot box after an incendiary device was discovered inside. (Portland Police Bureau via AP)
Vancouver is the bigge...