Federal officials have been warning that in recent months, some social media users have been encouraging sabotage of ballot drop boxes. "It's a direct attack on democracy," said one local official.

In the final stretch before Election Day, ballots have been set on fire and damaged in two ballot drop boxes and a Postal Service mailbox in three states. Federal officials have warned that in recent months, some social media users have encouraged sabotage of ballot drop boxes.

Early on Monday morning in Oregon, Portland police responded to a fire they say was started by “an incendiary device” inside a ballot drop box. Oregon’s Multnomah County Elections Division said in a statement that three ballots were damaged. “Fire suppressant inside the ballot box protected virtually all ballots,” the statement read.

Hours later, another drop box was set on fire in nearby Vancouver, Washington, where officials say “hundreds” of ballots were badly damaged when that box’s fire suppression system failed to work.

  • gedaliyah@lemmy.worldM
    122·
    8 days ago

    Just a reminder that this is how election interference starts. One party arbitrarily accuses the other of election interference, then that party’s adherents decide to interfere with the election to “even things out.” Finally, the party that was falsely accused feels the need to interfere, thus proving the original false accusation. Soon the entire election integrity is undermined.

    Only fascists and rival nations benefit from mistrust in democracy.

        • Pips@lemmy.sdf.org
          7·
          7 days ago

          So it’s really just one party’s supporters make a false claim about the other party’s supporters so that they can justify doing the made up bad act as well, they do the bad act, and the party whose supporters did not commit that crime continue not committing that crime.